Kamalpreet Kaur is an Indian athlete who participates in the discus throw competitions. In 2021, she became the first Indian female to cross the 65m barrier and achieve a 66.59m score at the Indian Grand Prix-4 at the NIS, Patiala.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Kamalpreet Kaur was born on Monday, 4 March 1996 (age 26 years; as of 2022) in the village Kabarwala, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Punjab. [1]Scroll.in Her zodiac sign is Pisces. She did her class 11 and class 12 at Dasmesh Girls Senior Secondary School, Badal, Punjab. She pursued her graduation at Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab. [2]RES Taipei FISU [3]The Times of India While she was in school, her physical education coach, insisted she participate in athletics. She agreed to it and participated in various athletic events and won many prizes. Initially, she started playing shot put, and in 2014, she shifted her focus to discus throw.
Physical Appearance
[5]RES Taipei FISU Weight: 106 kg
Eye Colour: Black
Hair Colour: Black
Family
Her father, Kuldeep Singh, is a farmer. Kaur lives in a joint family in her village in Punjab.
Career
After completing her schooling, she started her professional training in the discus throw at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in her village. In 2016, she became the national champion in discus throw in the U-18 and U-20 categories. A year later, she participated in the World University Games held in Taipei, Taiwan, in which she stood 5th. In 2017, she appeared for the clerical exam of the Indian Railways and cleared it. As her family’s financial condition was not good, so getting a regular salary at that time was a huge support to her. In an interview, while talking about the same, she said,
At times the Punjab government would offer a cash prize after I won medals at the national level. But there was no regular support. You know even my shoes cost Rs 10,000. In 2017, I got a job as a clerk in Railways. The salary was just Rs 21,000, but it came every month, and that was a huge support.”
In 2018, due to some fouls in her game, she failed to participate in the Asian Games in Jakarta. With her hard work and intense training, she won a gold medal in Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships in 2019. During an interview, while talking about the championship, she said,
It was my strategy to go all out in the first throw itself and it worked for me. I cannot convey in words how happy I am feeling now. I couldn’t sleep for the last three nights because of the nervous excitement. Another change came when I got access to protein supplements to enhance performance. I would buy a cheap one as I could not have kept asking my father for more money.”
Kamalpreet Kaur in a discus throw event
In 2019, she started getting assistance from the ‘GoSports Foundation.’ In an interview, while talking about it, she said,
Things got better when GoSports Foundation started supporting me in 2019. They provided me with a nutritionist who gave me a monthly chart of what to eat and what not to eat. They were keeping a tab on how many calories were being spent during training and what I should be eating to compensate for that loss. My diet became more balanced. They also helped me with equipment support like shoes. I just have to send them the bill and they will reimburse that into my account.”
In 2020, she broke the national record in the discus throw at the Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships in Patiala by making the 65.06m mark and was qualified to participate in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. During an interview, while talking about qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics 2020, she said,
My aim was to throw 63m if the qualification mark was set at 62. When I learned that the Olympic qualification mark has been increased to 63.50m, my aim changed to go beyond 65m. I didn’t want anything below that. All day, from when woke up till the time I went to bed, there was only one thing on my mind – 65m.”
Kamalpreet Kaur on winning a gold medal at the National Athletic Championships
She finished 6th in discus throw in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 final with the best throw of 63.70m. She has been trained under Preethpal Maru, and later, she did her training under Baljeet Singh.
Records
- 2019: National female record of 65.06m mark at the Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships in Patiala [6]News 18
Controversy
In May 2022, she was provisionally suspended by Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) after a prohibited substance, stanozolol, was found in her sample; using such a substance is considered a breach of the World Athletics anti-doping rules. [8]The Hindu On 12 October 2012, she received three years ban from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) after she was found using the prohibited substance Stanozolol. [9]The Economic Times
Facts/Trivia
- While she was in school, she was least interested in studies. In an interview, while talking about it, she said,
During the class VIII exams, I just managed 33 marks each in Maths and English. There was a slight improvement in the class X boards, but I realised that I was not going anywhere with my studies. I knew that if things continued like this I would not get a job. This was also the time when I had taken part in a sports event and did well. People liked my height and built and suggested that I give sports a try.”
- When she was studying in school, she wanted to become a professional cricketer, but her school’s physical education coach insisted her to participate in various athletic sports like shot put and discus throw.
Kamalpreet Kaur during her training session
- While talking about getting support from her family and her village people, she said that in her village people were very conservative and believed that girls should only focus on household work rather than studies or sports. Initially, her mother was also not happy about Kaur’s decision to opt for sports and live in a hostel, but her father was very supportive and encouraged her to do perform better in the discus throw.
- In an interview, while talking about the young girls in India, she said,
Girls should be given the freedom to pursue their dreams and realise their potential. There is no dearth of talent in our country. Girls, especially from rural areas have abundant talent, they should be motivated to do well. In my village, one girl’s mistake affects the life of 100 other girls. All other girls will be given the example that that one particular girl did that wrong. I feel now that I’ve done something, I’ll be a good example for girls. I feel this change will come. I get calls from parents asking me to guide their daughters so they can have bright futures and earn a name for themselves.”
- In 2021, she has been honoured by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for her achievements and received a cheque for Rs. 2 lakh and a ‘siropa’ (robe of honour) by the SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur in Amritsar. [10]The Bridge
- In an interview, when Kaur was asked how she prepared for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 amid the COVID-19 lockdown. She replied,
I used the double bed at home as weights. The bed is filled with clothes so I used it for my deadlift exercises. I used the flower pots at home as dumbbells. I did all the exercises I could at home and ran in the fields.”
- The senior Indian discus thrower Seema Punia asked the federation to test Kaur for doping which disturbed Kamalpreet mentally in 2021. [11]The Times of India
- In 2021, when she qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 finals in the discus throw, her father said that he could not watch her qualifying match as he was busy working in the fields.
- Kamalpreet Kaur’s idol is the Indian discus thrower Krishna Poonia.
References
