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Putting an end to all speculation that she may bid farewell to sports after her improved but unsuccessful attempt to bag a medal at the London Olympics, ace discus thrower Krishna Poonia is back on the track at NSNIS, Patiala. She is preparing for two major events ahead —the Asian Championship in July 2013 and World Championship in August. Back in action after a three-month break following the London Games, Poonia is ready to start afresh without the baggage of bad memories. Though she is a little disheartened at not being able to make a podium finish at the London games (she was one of the biggest bets for India in athletics), she isn’t disappointed with her performance. "There is no excuse as far as not winning a medal is concerned but I wish I did not have to throw last there. I have always thrown the discus between one and four number. I was little uncomfortable being the last player to make a throw. I could have improved if I threw early," adds Poonia. However, she is happy that she has been able to add another ‘first’ to her sports records. Poonia was the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and set a new national record by hurling the discus to 64.76m. She is also the first Indian woman discus thrower to enter the finals of the event. While she could not match up to her personal best in the finals and finished seventh with a throw of 63.62m, one cannot take away from her the credit that she managed to enter the finals this time after her early exit at the 2008 Bejing Olympics. She had finished at 10th spot after she threw the discus to 58.23m in Bejing. Speaking to The Tribune, Poonia says she is in no mood to say goodbye to the sports till the time she feels that she can do justice to her game. "As of now, I feel fit to play. My family is very supportive and wants me to continue playing, especially my son who takes pride in every medal I win," she smiles. Poonia, who is associated with various social welfare campaigns and is also the brand ambassador of a campaign against female foeticide initiated by the Rajasthan Government, says she feels rejuvenated in the past three months. "I also participated in some social awareness campaigns since I am personally attached to this noble cause. I am very proud of being a woman and feel that both male and female infants should be treated equally. A lot has changed in all these years but still we need to do our bit to eradicate female foeticide from our society," says the tall beauty. `A0About her training schedule, Poonia says she is currently focussing on regaining her form. "I have been working out diligently but am now looking back to getting into in the groove completely. After spending three to four months at the NIS, Patiala, I will leave to train at some foreign venues," said Poonia. Talking about her dream of setting up a sports academy at Jaipur, the ace athlete says this would be her way of paying back to society for the respect she has earned because of sports. "I want to contribute towards promoting sports in the country and I think this could be the best way of doing it. I and my husband Virender Poonia are looking forward to opening a sports academy at Jaipur, especially for woman athletes. We will not only provide them with sports training but also facilitate their education and stay, free of cost. We have worked out the modalities and are trying to meet the Rajasthan Chief Minister in this regard. Hopefully, we will begin working on it soon," she says. When questioned about the location of the academy at Jaipur, Poonia says apart from the fact that it is now her home, she feels Jaipur has good connectivity and good education institutes which will help them in managing things better. "Also, if we want to organise some international meets there in future, it would be very convenient," she adds.
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