Balancing Ba, PhD, and Olympic dream: Discus thrower Seema’s story | Sport-others News
In 2022, eleven months after giving birth to a ba boy, Seema stood inside the throwing circle of Bhim Stadium, Bhiwani unable to release the disc. Fast forward to 2025, she decided the goal medal of women’s discus throw at the ongoing National Games on Saturday with her first throw of 52.58m. The 24-year-old from Haryana went on to clinch the gold medal in the event with a best throw of 52.70m.
While her movement of releasing the disc from the hand was smooth, the journey hasn’t been the same. Mother to a two-and-half-year-old son Rudra, Seema restarted her athletic journey after a hiatus of three years due to a knee injury, the pandemic and the arrival of her ba. At the moment, the discus thrower is juggling between her kid, sport, and a PhD degree.
“I am happy with the medal but not happy with the throw as my target was to break the 24-year-old meet record of 55.45m,” Seema told The Indian Express after her medal-winning feat.
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Seema has a personal best of 57.19m which she achieved last year at the Inter-State Championship in Panchkula. “The throwing circle was a little rough today and it became tough for athletes who use speed while releasing the discus,” her coach and husband Ravinder explained.
Seema posing with gold medal along with her husband and coach Ravinder. (Express Photo Pritish Raj)
When asked how she manages the responsibility of having a kid, being an athlete, and being an active PhD student, Seema laughed.
“Bas Ho jata hai sir ji (It just happens),” Seema and Ravinder both laughed. “We have hardly spent time with our son Rudra as he spends time with his grandparents from both sides. Our families have been extremely supportive in our quest for sporting excellence,” Ravinder chimed in.
Currently training under the strict eyes of Ravinder, a former national-level discus thrower, Seema’s career took off after her return post-pregnancy.Story continues below this ad
“I played a lot of sports in my school days ranging from boxing, wrestling, to Kabaddi,” said Seema about the start of her sporting journey. “However, it was the discus throw that captured my imagination when my school teacher introduced me to it. Eventually, I started liking it and stuck to it,” explained Seema.
Just as Seema was gaining momentum in her career with medals at the junior level, life threw a different challenge her way.
A serious knee injury, followed the COVID-19 pandemic, put her athletic dreams on hold. Owing to the injury and the pandemic, the recently married couple of Ravinder and Seema planned a ba.
After her son was born, the athlete inside Seema started getting restless and within 11 months of the birth of Rudra, she returned to the field.Story continues below this ad
“It was very tough getting back to the field as I was unable to even release the discus properly. But I think the motivation and mentoring of my husband (Ravinder) helped me get back to my normal strength and then improve further,” Seema recalled.
The wife and husband duo have set their eyes on the 2028 LA Olympic qualification but with smaller goals on the way.
“The Olympic is the ultimate goal for me but we can reach there only when we achieve the smaller goals of playing at the continental championships and events like the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games,” Seema laid out the goals set them.
“Apart from the major competitions, one of my targets is breaking the national record in women’s discus throw,” she added further.
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The national record in women’s discus throw belongs to Olympian Kamalpreet Kaur who threw 66.59m in 2021. While her season has started with an underwhelming mark, Seema has ample time to improve and eye qualification in international events.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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