Seema Punia is an Indian athlete who competes in the discus throw. At the 2000 World Youth Championships, she lost her gold medal after testing positive for pseudoephedrine.
Wiki/Biography
Seema Antil Punia was born on Wednesday, July 27, 1983, in Khewra village, Sonipat, Haryana (40 years; as of 2023). Her zodiac sign is Leo. She attended Tika Ram Girls Sr. Sec. School, Sonipat, Haryana. Later, she graduated from Government College, Sonipat, Haryana. She has been fond of sports since she was a child, and began participating in school hurdles and long jump competitions at the age of 11. Speaking about Punia in an interview, her father said:
We encouraged her as much as possible and never put pressure on her studies. We fed her milk and ghee to build up her strength. No matter where she goes, I’ll be with her. “
appearance
Height: 6′
Weight: 96 kg
Eye color: black
Hair color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Her father, Vijay Pal Singh, was a lawyer. She has two brothers. Her eldest brother Anandpal Antill was a Greco-Roman wrestler and her younger brother Amitpal Antill was a hockey player.
Seema Punia’s parents
husband and children
On February 6, 2011, she married Indian discus thrower Ankush Punia, who is also her coach. After a few years of marriage, problems began to arise in their marriage, and they later divorced. News of their divorce came into the public eye when Seema updated her divorcee’s marital status and removed her last name “Punya” from her Facebook account.
Seema Punia’s wedding photos
Seema Punia and her husband
Profession
Initially, she was a long jumper, but later, she turned her attention to the discus. She participated in various national and international competitions and brought many honors to the country. She has won various medals in competitions such as the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. Her career was going well until 2000 when she tested positive for pseudoephedrine. This was a huge setback for her career and she even lost the gold medal she had won at the 2000 World Youth Championships. In 2010, she was appointed as Sub-Inspector of Haryana Police. In 2014, after winning the Asian Games gold medal, she said:
I’m happy to have won the gold medal today that I expected to win. I have been training for this gold medal for the past three years. I have been waiting for this after missing the last two Asian Games. I usually don’t do well on my first pitch. But today I followed the coach’s instructions and threw the Frisbee over 55m on my first try. “
In 2021, she will represent India in the discus throw event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The event was originally scheduled to take place a year later in 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Seema Punia practicing discus throwing
dispute
In 2000, she won the gold medal at the World Junior Championships, and people began to recognize her as a “millennial child.” She later tested positive for pseudoephedrine and ultimately lost her medal and title.
medal
world junior championship
- 2002: Bronze medal in discus throw in Kingston
Commonwealth Games
- 2006: Silver medal in discus throw in Melbourne
- 2010: Bronze medal in discus throw event in Delhi
- 2014: Silver medal in discus throw in Glasgow
- 2018: Silver medal in discus throw on Gold Coast
Asian Games
- 2014: Gold medal in Incheon discus competition
- 2018: Bronze medal in discus throw competition in Palembang, Jakarta
Seema Punia wins gold at Asian Games
Facts/Trivia
- In an interview, she revealed that her first love was the discus, but she also wanted to try the shot put. She further said,
My life revolves around the discus. It’s the only thing I know. This sport has given me a lot and allowed me to explore the world. Without Discus, I would have been restricted to taking care of cows in some remote village in Haryana. My mission is to win an Olympic medal that is yet to be accomplished and the next two years will be dedicated to making that dream a reality. While the discus is still my main focus, I’d love to try the shot put. In India, we don’t have quality women’s shot putters. I have won medals at the Asian level as a teenager and I wouldn’t mind trying again. “
- On June 26, 2006, she received the Bhim Award from the Haryana government for her contribution to sports.
- In an interview, she revealed that she had been mistreated by Indian sports authorities. In 2014, she also faced huge financial losses and was even rejected for promotion in the Haryana police department. In an interview, she said of the incident,
It was only after the court order that I got the job of sub-inspector. Every time I applied for promotion, I was told that only Asian Games gold medalists can be promoted to DSP level. If you look at the cases of other athletes, I know that’s not true. But I don’t want to take any names. What I want to say is, now that I am also an Asian Games gold medalist, please treat me on the same level. “
- Seema Punia follows a non-vegetarian diet.
- In 2021, she expressed doubts about the sudden improvement in discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur’s performance. Punia wrote to the sports federation suggesting that Kaur was taking high-androgenic drugs. Punia said in an interview,
When she threw 65m (at the Fed Cup), I was the first one here to congratulate her and appreciate her. But when she crossed 66m and I saw the video, I became suspicious. Past a certain point, sheer strength cannot help female throwers cover that distance. It requires skill, fitness, agility, and a lot of other things, but she had none of them. “
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education