Kiran Baliyan makes India proud by ending the 72-year wait and bringing home a medal in the women’s shot put event at the 2023 Asian Games. Baliyan stood third, just behind the Chinese duo and Olympic champions Lijiao Gong and Jiayuan Song.
She covered a distance of 17.36 meters in her third throw attempt. She, along with the Chinese winners, were the only three athletes to cross the 17-meter mark. Lijiao Gong threw a stunning 19.58m to claim her gold on Friday.
What makes Kiran Baliyan’s victory astonishing for everyone is that she took the sport accidentally and was not at all serious about it for a couple of years. It was a spectacular sight to see her surpass her senior Manpreet Kaur’s best effort of 16.25 meters.
“I did not come here thinking I would create history or win. In fact, I did not even know of this record or such a long gap until now. I only wanted to give my best performance. I knew I was in a good position when I saw the start list yesterday. I am not very happy with my performance; this is not my best, but for getting a medal for the country and for athletics on the first day itself, I am satisfied,” Baliyan said after her win.
This is a proud moment for India that we have made the breakthrough after 72 years.
