Mumbai: Seema Kaliramna started and ended her career’s most prestigious competition thus far without registering a valid throw. Two more attempts from her were fouls. But in those big moments on the big stage, it’s all about that one big effort. Sandwiched between those strings of ‘X’s was a discus that landed at 58.65m.
And so, add another Seema (after Seema Punia who won three silver (2006, 2014, 2018) and one bronze in 2010) to India’s Commonwealth Games (CWG) medallists in the women’s discus throw. This Seema delivered a bronze in Glasgow, her third throw keeping her ahead of compatriot Nidhi Rani’s best of 57.10m. And this Seema’s journey to the podium has multiple layers that tested her resolve to keep at it.
The 27-year-old from Haryana’s Bhiwani is now a mother to a four-year-old son, and dabbles between her athletics career and academic aspirations – she is pursuing a PhD in Physical Education. There was a time, however, when lifting a discus also felt like a daunting task for her.
With her Armyman father into basketball and javelin, taking up a sport came almost naturally to the kid. Seema picked up javelin and discus in school, and chose to pursue the latter.
She married Ravinder Kaliramna, a former national-level discus thrower, in 2019, and alongside him as personal coach, kicked on with her discus career. Until the Covid pandemic and a serious knee injury halted it.
{{/usCountry}}She married Ravinder Kaliramna, a former national-level discus thrower, in 2019, and alongside him as personal coach, kicked on with her discus career. Until the Covid pandemic and a serious knee injury halted it.
{{/usCountry}}With a long rehab in store and the pandemic disrupting the calendar, Seema and Ravinder planned a baby and had their son, Rudra, in 2022.
Post-pregnancy complications meant Seema lost a lot of weight. When she tried lifting a discus for the first time after that, she could not. When she tried throwing it later, it barely went a few metres away.
“I was diagnosed with arthritis after my pregnancy, because of which there were many complications. But my husband and family supported me because of which I am here,” Seema said after her event on Thursday night in Glasgow.
From her last competitive outing in March 2021, Seema could only make her return in June 2024, when she threw 57.19m in Panchkula. She came 4th at the Asian Championships last year (56.15m), and stepped up this season.
With an Asian Games berth and CWG selection at stake, Seema produced a personal best throw of 59.73m at the inter-state championships in June. The CWG was a stiff test, not least due to the field but the conditions too.
“I was confident that I would do well even though the conditions were tough,” Seema said. “It was very cold but our pre-Games training in Spala (Poland) helped us prepare for such weather.”
The debutant did just about enough with that one solid effort to make the podium, behind Canada’s silver medallist Julia Tunks (60.67) and Jamaican champion Samantha Hall (61.66).
Parul disappoints
In the women’s 5,000m final, Parul Chaudhary had a rather disappointing outing. Barely weeks after scripting a new national record in the event (15:04.26), Parul could only manage a timing of 15:08.56 to finish 13th. It was another below-par outing for the experienced athlete after the 3000m steeplechase earlier in the week.
India’s mixed 4x400m relay team, meanwhile, made the cut for the final as the fastest team from the two heats to have not secured direct qualification. The quartet’s timing of 3:20.98 put them in 7th place overall after the first three teams in each heat booked a direct berth.