On Sunday, discus thrower Krishna Poonia became the fifth Indian athlete to book a passage to the Beijing Olympics by achieving the ‘B’ qualifying standard of 59m in the 50th edition of the San Antonia Community College (SAC) relay competition in Walnut, California. The qualifying mark is 61m.Discus thrower Vikas Gowda, triple jumper Renjith Maheswary, long jumper Anju Bobby George and heptathlete Sushmita Singha Roy are the other four athletes to have attained Beijing qualification.According to information reaching here, the Indian thrower hurled the disc to a distance of 59.04m to finish fourth in the field of 12 competitors in the women’s discus throw (invitational) event to achieve the Olympics qualification mark. Her other throws were also over 58m. Currently based in Portland for training under the watchful eyes of world champion Mac Wilkins, Poonia flew to Walnut to participate in her first major outdoor competition. Mac expressed his satisfaction over the Indian thrower’s performance in the meet. “She is on target for this time of the year. The results were encouraging,” Mac told The Indian Express, adding Poonia should do much better in Beijing.The Doha Asian Games bronze medallist Poonia, in her build-up to the Olympics, is also expected to compete in at least two or three more tournaments in May. The eventual winner from USA, Stephania Brown Trafton recorded a throw of 61.52m. Anetha Thurmond (61.52m) and Summer Pierson (59.42m) finished second and third respectively.In the Walnut competition, several top American athletes, including sprinter Tyson Gay, were seen in action. Gay represented Team Adidas in the 4x100m relay event. His team finished first (38.51 seconds). Incidentally, Renjith Maheshwary is also training in the USA in preparation for the Beijing. Another Indian athlete, shot putter Navpreet Singh, who is yet to qualify for Beijing, is also training in USA.
