 Poonia at the2010 Commonwealth Games | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1977-05-05)5 May 1977 (age 48) |
| Height | 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Discus throw |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbest | 64.76 m (2012) |
Krishna Poonia (born 5 May 1977) is an Indianpolitician and formerdiscus thrower. A formerCommonwealth Games Champion, she represented India in the women's discus throw event at the2008 and2012 Olympic Games. In recognition of her contributions to Indian athletics, she received theArjuna Award in 2010 and thePadma Shri in 2011. Poonia later entered politics and served as aMember of the Legislative Assembly from theSadulpur constituency, representing theIndian National Congress in 2018.[2]
Krishna was born on 5 May 1977 inJat family ofAgroha inHaryana.[3] She was raised by her father and paternal grandmother after her mother died when she was nine years old.[4] Her physical fitness was honed as a result of working at her family land since the age of 15 and not exactly undergoing rigorous sports training.[5] Krishna obtained aBachelor of Arts degree insociology fromFateh Chand College for Women, Hisar.
In 2000, she married Virender Singh Poonia, a former athlete who coached her after their marriage, and had a son in 2001.[4] The couple worked forIndian Railways but in 2013, Poonia resigned and joined theIndian National Congress.[6]
Poonia became the first Indian woman athlete to win a gold medal at the2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Poonia led the historic clean sweep of the discus event by clearing 61.51 m. She is the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in track and field events of Commonwealth Games and the first Indian to win a gold medal in such events afterMilkha Singh who had won the gold in men's 440 yards race in the1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games.[7][8]
She finished a creditable sixth in the women's discus throw in the 2012 London Olympics. Poonia's best effort of 63.62 m came in her fifth and penultimate attempt. She had 62.42 m in the first attempt and 61.61 in the third and 61.31 m in the sixth and the final throw. She had two no-throws in the second and the fourth attempt. Earlier she became only the sixth Indian to make it to the final round of an Olympic track and field event afterMilkha Singh,P T Usha,Sriram Singh,Gurbachan Singh Randhawa andAnju Bobby George.[9][10]
In 2013, she joined theIndian National Congress at an election rally in Churu – her husband's home district – in the presence ofRahul Gandhi and then chief ministerAshok Gehlot after she was approached by the Congress's leadership.[2]
In2013 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election, she contested and lost her first election from theSadulpur Assembly constituency as Congress candidate where she finished third behindBJP andBSP.
In2018 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election, she contested again and won the same seat on a Congress ticket, by a margin of 18,084 votes.[11]
In2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Poonia was nominated by Congress from theJaipur Rural constituency. She contested against OlympianRajyavardhan Singh Rathore of theBJP.[12] She lost to Rathore by a margin of 3,93,171 votes.
Poonia has been helping Rajasthan State Health Ministry in its attempt to curb female foeticide as the selective abortion of female fetuses is a pressing concern in India especially in Haryana where Poonia grew up. She is also engaged in improving the infrastructure of sports for children in Jaipur and across the country.[5]
She was appointed as the president of Rajasthan State Sports Council in 2022.[13]
In2023 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election, she lost the election from theSadulpur Assembly constituency as Congress candidate by a margin of 2,574 votes behindBSP.[14]
Commonwealth Games champions in women'sdiscus throw | |
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