Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur) - Hindustan Times (Jaipur) - City
Sports should be fair, says discus thrower Seema Punia
Jis sports se humein sab kuch mila, main chahti hun yahan fair hona chahiye,” says discus thrower Seema Punia. While she didn’t qualify for the final at the Tokyo Games 2020, her fourth Olympic outing, she asked the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to conduct a hyperandrogenism test on fellow athlete Kamalpreet Kaur, who produced two big throws of 65.06m and 66.59m and finished sixth in the finals.
“Mera khud ka anubhav hai, ek lambi throw ke liye bahut cheezein rehti hain. Aap kya training karte ho, kis coach ke paas ho... Aur aapka kya fitness level hai,” says Punia, who is an Asian Games medallist. She adds, “Achhi baat hai usne (Kamalpreet Kaur) discus ko pehchaan dilwayi. Achha kare woh, par fair rahe toh achhi baat hai! Humare sports mein ladkiyan hain, par bol rahe hain ki test ka discus mein role nahi hai. Kya pata aage aa jaye. Kyunki normal ladkiyon ke liye yeh cheezein (discus) heavy hain. Test karwa lena chahiye.”
“Jab usne 65m throw lagayi toh maine mubarakbaad di, Facebook pe likha bhi hai..mere andar jo vichaar the bahut logon ke andar hain, shayad koi bolna nahin chahta,” adds Punia.
Disappointed by her defeat, Punia hopes to come back stronger. “Maine do saal sirf training ki Russia mein, ghar nahin aayi. Bas ye tha ki mujhe Olympics ke liye karna hai. Mujhe ek din pehle wahan fever hua dopahar mein, aur uske baad main raat mein nahin so paayi. Humara event 9am tha, tab tak body loose ho gayi thi. Phir bhi maine 60-plus throw lagayi,” she points out.
The 38-year-old athlete, who won the silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2018, says, “Main final mein rehti toh ek alag satisfaction rehta ki yahan tak pahunchi...,” adding, “Abhi main bilkul ekant mein hoon. Is mahine mein nikal gayi toh soch sakti hun...lekin agar nahin nikal payi toh nahin kar paungi sports. ”