Seema Kaliramna 4th in Asian Games Discus With PB 59.88m

Asian Games: Seema Kaliramna misses discus podium despite personal-best throw of 59.88m

Nagoya, Sep 28

The Commonwealth Games bronze medallist needed a big final round after being pushed out of the medal places as the competition intensified. She delivered, improving her previous personal best of 59.73m by 15cm, but the effort was not enough to reclaim a place on the podium.

Seema began cautiously, recording 53.67m with her opening attempt. She then moved sharply up the standings with a 58.40m effort in her second throw, briefly occupying the bronze-medal position.

The battle for the medals, however, gathered pace in the later rounds.

Thailand's Subenrat Insaeng initially moved ahead of Seema with 58.53m before producing a decisive 61.43m throw. The mark was a personal best and took the Thai athlete beyond the 60m barrier, leaving Seema with ground to make up.

China's Jiang Zhichao also found her best effort late in the competition, sending the discus 62.25m to move into second place. Seema responded with her biggest throw of the day, 59.88m, but remained fourth as all three athletes above her had crossed 60m.

She came close to the 60m mark once again with her final attempt, registering 59.81m, but could not alter the medal standings.

China's Feng Bin took gold with 63.69m, while Jiang claimed silver and Insaeng secured bronze with 61.43m.

The result ended an Indian presence on the women's discus podium that had stretched back to 1998, although Seema's performance offered a significant personal milestone. Her two best efforts of the competition both surpassed her previous personal best, with the 59.88m mark establishing a new benchmark for the Indian thrower.

Sanya Yadav, the other Indian in the final, finished eighth with a best effort of 49.90m. She fouled her opening attempt before registering 49.90m with her second throw and was unable to improve thereafter.

The final unfolded in difficult conditions, with persistent drizzle making the throwing circle and competition particularly challenging. China's Feng Bin, the defending champion, opened with 63.69m and maintained the lead throughout.

Seema's fourth-place finish meant India missed out on the podium in an event where the country had won gold twice in Asian Games history - through Neelam Jaswant Singh in 2002 and Seema Punia in 2014. For Kaliramna, though, the evening ended with a national-level milestone of her own: a new personal best on the Asian Games stage.

— IANS