Shot putter Manpreet Kaur wins Asian Games bronze after overcoming long doping ban

Thirty-six-year-old Indian athlete Manpreet Kaur won a bronze medal in the shot put event at the Asian Games with a throw of 17.17 metres. The gold and silver medals went to Chinese athletes Song Jiyuan, who threw 19.40 metres, and Zhang Linru, who managed 18.14 metres. This victory marks Manpreet's first medal at the continental games, achieved nearly a decade after she faced a ban following a positive dope test. Life presented multiple challenges for the Haryana-born athlete. Her father passed away when she was twelve years old, and her mother has lived with paralysis. Returning to competitive sports proved difficult after a C-section delivery, which delayed heavy weight training. She also had to overcome the fallout of her doping ban, which she attributes to contaminated supplements. Family support played a key role in her return, with her husband and coach Karamjeet Singh, father-in-law Bhupinder Singh, and mother-in-law Sukhwant Kaur helping her through physical and mental hurdles. Her husband suggested switching from the glide technique to the rotational technique, which suited her height. Manpreet originally started her athletics career as a sprinter in Sahauli village under the inspiration of her cousin Jagjeet Singh Randhawa. After suffering a foot fracture, international shot putter Dimi Singh suggested she try shot put instead. Over the years, she won medals including a junior national medal in Chennai, a silver at the Guwahati National Games, and gold at the South Asian Junior Championships in Colombo. She previously set national records above 17 and 18 metres before her past marks were erased due to the doping ban. Recently, she trained under coach Parveer Singh to refine her technique, correcting her elbow position, starting step, and foot placement.