It was a big step forward for Kamalpreet Kaur, as she qualified for the finals of the discus throw at Tokyo 2020. However, on the competition day, her mind was engulfed by a familiar fear.
The Indian National record holder catapulted the discus to a distance of 64 meters, in the discus throw qualifications for the finals in Group B. In fact, it was the second best throw in qualification rounds between all the groups. Kamalpreet was only behind the eventual gold medalist Valarie Allman.
Kamalpreet Kaur and her fear
Earlier in the year, in Grand prix lV we show the rise of Kamalpreet Kaur as she crossed the 66meter mark and became the first Indian to do so with the exact distance of 66. 59 meter. Eventually with her performance in the qualifications hopes were high as many believed a podium finish was certain. However, she finished sixth with her best effort being 63.70 metres. The conditions in the finals changed because of the rain interruption as it made the pitch wet and tricky.
Kamalpreet Kaur told Olympic.com that,
“My coach wasn’t with me at Tokyo 2020 and I had to do the last 10 days of training on my own. The pressure and nervousness of participating at my first Olympics was always there, I constantly thought about my performances.“
Kamalpreet feels to perform in rain. She told us that before the 2018 Asian Games she fell short by 1 meter in the national qualifiers. Although in the very next event she threw about 61 meters which were good enough to get the silver in the Asian Games. She thinks and has the fear that what if she slips and gets injured under those wet conditions. Whoever she looks determined to overcome her fear.
Kamalpeet kaur ready to fight against her fear
Kamalpreet Kaur has decided that after her break she would certainly start practising in the wet and dam discus circle.
She is sure that it will help her get over her fear. For sure I have ample amount of time before the World Athletics Championship in the upcoming July.
Rakhi Tyagi, coach of Kamalpreet has revealed that,
“She has planned to practice in rain or in wet circles. She thought of doing that before the Tokyo Olympics but could not dare to risk an injury. Certainly, she thinks that now she has enough time to rectify her mistakes and work on this method.“
Kamalpreet Kaur also wants to enhance her movement inside the circle. This area has been of concern for the Indian discus thrower.
She said,
“I am going to work on my speed. I think my technique is slow in comparison to others named Valarie Allman the Olympic Gold medalist.“
Kamalpreet Kaur is aiming to break her own records and build momentum for the upcoming big events like The World Championship, Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.
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