Published>Tue, Oct 19 10 05:13 AM
A week after she became the first Indian woman to win a Commonwealth Games gold in track and field ? and the first from the country since Milkha Singh in 1958 ? discus thrower Krishna Poonia remains in the spotlight.
On Monday, news filtered in that the reigning world champion, Australia's Dani Samuels, had challenged Poonia to a $20,000 winner-takes-all match-up. Poonia had earlier said that Samuels' withdrawal from the CWG was more to do with poor form and less about the health and security scare.
Speaking to The Indian Express from Patiala, Poonia said she was not backing out of the challenge, but stressed that winning the gold at the Asian Games would be her top priority. "I am not kicked about the $20,000 prize money. I am fully focussed on winning the gold at the Asian Games," she said. "However, I am ready for any challenge Dani throws at me. If she wants to contest before the Asian Games, she will have to come to India. I don't want to travel abroad as it would affect my schedule. If the match-up is after the Asian Games, I am ready to travel anywhere to compete against her," said Poonia.
The Sydney Morning Herald on Monday quoted Samuels' manager Hayden Knowles as saying, "It could be enormous. It could be like a boxing match. A sponsor has offered $20,000 winner-takes-all, making it the biggest cash prize for a discus event in the world. Sydney's Olympic Park Centre can host the event."
While Poonia's 61.51 metres won her the gold at the CWG, her personal best is 63.69 metres. Samuels' top throw has been measured at 65.84 metres. Both these efforts were recorded this year.
Poonia's husband-cum-coach Vijendra Poonia said: "At the moment, Krishna and I don't want our training schedule to be disturbed. There is a lot of expectation from Krishna after she won the gold at the Delhi Games. But we are not backing away from the challenge."
Source: Web Search
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