Who is Seema Punia? Five things to know about the Tokyo-bound discus-thrower

Seema Punia will represent India in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, which is set to begin on July 23, in discus throw. She qualified for the mega event after she hurled the discus 63.72m at the National Senior Inter-State Athletic Championships.

The 37-year-old athlete is a veteran figure in both domestic and international circuits and her recent throw of 63.72 is her personal best as well.

She hails from Sonipat in Haryana and is married to Ankush Punia, who had been a discus thrower himself and had represented India at the Athens 2004 Olympics.

Let us take a look at some of the interesting facts about her.

How did Seema Punia begin her career?

Seema Antil (she changed her surname after marrying her coach Ankush Punia) began her career at the age of 11 as a long jumper and hurdler. However, she later chose discus throw as her preferred event.

She also made a splash in the junior circuits, putting in some impressive performances. She came to limelight when she beat then national discus throw champion Neelam Jaswant Singh in 2000 at the Calcutta Open Nationals with an effort of 57.30m.

Most notably, she also won a bronze in the 2002 World Junior Athletics Championships.

A comeback of sorts in 2010

In 2006, she was not part of the Indian contingent for the Asian Games. But she put the disappointment past her and scripted a comeback in 2010. In the Commonwealth Games (CWG) at New Delhi, Punia won a bronze, marking her return to the international arena with a bang.

Brilliant in successive Commonwealth Games

After winning a bronze in New Delhi (CWG), she also won two silver medals in successive CWGs in Glasgow (2014) and Gold Coast (2018) respectively.

How has Seema Punia fared in her previous Olympic appearances?

In her debut Olympic appearance in 2004, she stood 14th after throwing a distance of 60.64m. After missing out on Beijing 2008, she returned in 2012 and achieved a distance of 61.91m. In her third Olympic campaign in Rio, she finished on the 20th spot after scoring 57.58m. In Tokyo, she will look to make amends to her poor record in the Olympics and at least break into the top 10.

Winning gold in Asian Games

The crowning moment in her career came in 2014 when she won gold at the Asian Games by throwing 61.03m. It was her first gold in any major international event. She beat China's Lu Xiaoxin and Tan Jian to finish on top.

“This medal means a lot because this was my first Asian Games. I missed the two previous Games partly because of a doping allegation in 2006 in which I was innocent, and also due to injury,” she said after her victory. “Finally, I have managed to win something big. Hopefully, this will end the gloom that has dogged my career.”