KAMALPREET KAUR: National Record Holder to Olympics

 

KAMALPREET KAUR

Kamalpreet Kaur booked her ticket for Tokyo 2020 by breaching the Olympic qualification mark of 63.50m at the 24th National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships held in Patiala and also finished first in the competition. However being first in the Federation Cup was not new for her as she was also the gold medalist during the 23rd National Federation Cup in 2019 with a throw of 60.25m so apart from achieving a spot for Tokyo 2020 ,she did something significant in this year's Federation Cup - She became the first Indian Woman to breach the 65m barrier in discus throw as she sent the discus to 65.06m. The previous record was 64.76m set by Krishna Poonia in 2012. 

Early Life

 Kamalpreet Kaur comes from Kabarwala village within the Sri Muktsar Sahib district of Punjab. Coming to athletics was also tricky for Kaur as she chose athletics for just having a try on the insistence of her physical education coach as she was not interested in academics and Kaur finished fourth at her first state meet. She told in an interview recalling her earlier days," I was really bad at studies. There was a state meet and my coach took me there. I feel I finished fourth there and everyone told me I had a good physique. Then I thought let's give sports a try as I am not that great at studies". However because of their poor financial condition Kaur was initially reluctant to pursue athletics career and her mother also insisted her not to pursue a sports career giving examples of some other girls who could not make a mark. "But my father(Kuldeep Singh) supported me and when I won medals at national level they felt hopeful. Now when I have qualified for the Olympics , it has given them tremendous happiness", she said in an interview.

 Fun fact

 Kamalpreet Kaur was a shot put thrower in her initial days in athletics and was ranked No 4 in Punjab in shot put. After joining SAI centre in Badal , Preethpal Maru, the coach there suggested her to opt discus throwing.

 Motivation 

According to Kaur from where she belongs it was normal for girls to get married at a very early age. So it was important for her to do well at studies and join a good college otherwise her fate would have been the same as other girls from her village. Kaur was determined not to meet her fate and being not that much good in studies she wanted to do something different,so she thought sports would be a ticket for her brighter future avoiding early marriage.

 Struggle

 After getting a chance in SAI she didn't get a seat in the SAI hostel so she had to put up in the hostel of Dashmesh Girl's Senior Secondary School from where she also finished her 11th and 12th. The basic problem she had to face there was of maintaining a good diet. SAI hostel would have provided her a diet that is needed for athletes but in her hostel she got a normal diet.

 At the start she often missed the morning sessions because of cold winter mornings but after winning a medal at national level the world changed for her. She won a bronze in the junior nationals at Bangalore in 2013 but when people were clicking selfies with her she got motivated. The attention she got for that madel actually did the work, not the madel as she stated,'' It just struck me that if this is the attention I am getting with this mesal,what will happen if I get to represent India. I suddenly became more serious. I had already been training at the center for two years. I saw that the girl who had won the gold was happier and more people were clicking selfies with her. I felt that I should have been in her position. It's a normal human trait to like being appreciated. From there on, the training became more serious ajd I was getting up early and making sure I didnt miss the morning training. I became much more disciplined."

 From getting motivation from clicking selfies , here we are today with the national record holder Kamalpreet Kaur. 

Achievements

 U-18 and U-20 National National Champion in 2016

 6th at 29th World University Games in 2017

 5th at Asian Athletics Championships 2017

 5th at Asian Athletics Championships 2019

Gold Medalist at 23rd National Federation Cup in 2019

 Gold Medalist at 24th National Federation Cup in 2021 (The 65.06m throw and a ticket for Tokyo)

 Future 

Kamalpreet currently trains under Baljeet Singh who claims his ward has the potential to breach the 68m mark in near future but he is concerned about the foul throws ahead of Tokyo 2020. In an interview he expressed his concerns about Kaur's techniques," She keeps her legs too straight. She needs to bend her knees a little which will give her extra grip and reduce foul throws".

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