Harwant out to fulfil grandpa’s Olympic dream

She says she will give her best shot in Beijing for him

MADURAI: Discus thrower Harwant Kaur, who earned a ticket for the Beijing Olympics, is a bit disappointed as her brother Kuldev Singh, a 400m national champion, missed the bus for a right ankle injury.

“It would have been two from my family had he not got injured,” Harwant told the DNA on Wednesday. “Kuldev had timed 50.48s ahead of P Shanker Ranjodh Singh at the Bhopal Federation Cup early this year,” she said.

Harwant was took to the track quite early (six years) following her aunt Gurmeet Kaur, an Asian meet bronze medalist javelin thrower. Even hailing from such background, Harwant had to break a lot of sweat to come such a long way and get a rare opportunity to represent the country in the mega show.

Harwant’s grandfather, Sardar Dilip Singh, an Indian Navy officer had made it mandatory for the family members to attend the tracks regularly as he wanted someone from the family to win an Olympic medal.

“My grandfather unfortunately passed away last February, but I will give my best shot at the Games for him,” she said adding that her grandfather had also laid out a track behind their house.
At the age of six, Harwant used to throw utensils copying her aunt, who used to practice at the track adjacent to their house. “I was so young, it wasn’t possible for me to lift anything else”.