Disillusioned discus thrower to move to Australia

SOME CONSOLATION: Harwant won a silver for India at the 2002 Asian Championship.

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Keywords: Australia, Discuss Throw

Patiala: Struggle is a part of the job profile of an Indian athlete. And this time, it's Harwant Kaur who's fighting the odds. This discus thrower from Punjab has qualified for Beijing Olympics, but all is not well.

Exactly a month after Harwant booked her flight to Beijing, the dream journey to the Olympics turned sour for the 28-year-old discuss thrower. An Assistant Sub Inspector with Punjab Police, Harwant was demoted to the rank of a constable.

Unable to sustain herself professionally in India, she has now decided to seek greener pastures abroad.

"I have qualified for the Olympics. I am confident of giving a good performance there and then I will migrate to Australia," says Harwant.

Her coach Bahadur Singh believes this will be a great loss to the sport in India.

If she goes to Australia then it will be a big loss to this game," he says.

Harwant never misses out on practice and it was this dedication that saw her finish 13th at the Athens Olympics and bag a silver at the Asian Championships in 2002. She now has just one plea for the authorities.

"I want to tell my officers that whatever they have done to me should not be repeated. If it is so then other athletes will also leave the sports. They should promote the deserving athletes," she says.

But are the authorities listening?