Krishna Poonia Biography: Krishna Poonia (born 5 May 1977) is an Indian discus thrower, track-and-field athlete, two-time Olympian, Padma Shri and Arjuna Award recipient, Congress party politician, and the current MLA for the Sadulpur constituency in Rajasthan. he competed in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. She claimed gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. In February of 2022, she was appointed president of the Rajasthan State Sports Council.
Krishna Poonia Biography
Early years
Poonia was born on 5 May 1977 into the Jat family of the Agroha village in the Hisar district of Haryana. Her father and paternal grandmother reared her after her mother passed away when she was 9 years old. Krishna’s physical fitness was honed by labouring on the family farm since she was 15 years old, and not by rigorous sports training.
In 2000, she married former athlete Virender Singh Poonia, who later served as her coach. In 2001, they had a son. The couple previously worked for Indian Railways, but Poonia resigned in 2013 and joined the Congress. They reside in Jaipur. Poonia earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Jaipur’s Kanoria PG Mahila Mahavidyalaya.
Career
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, Poonia became the first Indian female athlete to earn a gold medal. By clearing 61.5 metres, Poonia leads the historic sweep of the discus competition. She is the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in track and field events at the Commonwealth Games, and the first Indian to earn a gold medal in such events since Milkha Singh, who won the men’s 440-yard race at the 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games.
She finished sixth in the women’s discus throw at the London Olympics in 2012. Poonia’s greatest distance of 63.62 metres was achieved in her fifth and penultimate attempt. She threw 62.42 metres on her first attempt, 61.61 metres on her third attempt, and 61.31 metres on her sixth and final attempt. She threw two misses on her second and fourth attempts. After Milkha Singh, P T Usha, Sriram Singh, Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, and Anju Bobby George, she was the sixth Indian to advance to the final round of an Olympic track and field competition.
Political career
In 2013, she joined the Indian NationalCongress at an election rally in her husband’s native district of Churu, in the presence of Rahul Gandhi and then-chief minister Ashok Gehlot.
She lost her first election as a candidate for the Congress in the Sadulpur Assembly constituency in the 2013 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly elections, placing third behind the BJP and BSP. In the 2018 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election, she ran on the Congress ticket and won the same constituency by a margin of 18084 votes after receiving 70020 votes.
Congress nominated Poonia to represent the Jaipur Rural Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 elections. She ran against the BJP’s Olympian Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. She lost by a margin of 3,93,171 ballots to Rathore.
Poonia has been assisting the Rajasthan State Health Ministry in its efforts to curtail female foeticide, as selective abortion of female foetuses is an urgent issue in India, particularly in Poonia’s home state of Haryana. She is also involved in enhancing the sports infrastructure for children in Jaipur and across the nation.
Honours
In 2011, the Government of India bestowed the “Padma Shri” civilian honour.2010 “Arjuna Award” recipients were selected by the Indian Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
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Personal Life
Krishna Poonia was born in Agroha, Haryana, India, into an agricultural family. Her parents are Shri Roshan Lal Poonia and Smt. Saroj Devi. She has three siblings. Regarding her siblings and extended family, little information is publicly available.
Virender Singh, who is both an athlete and a coach, is married to Krishna Poonia. They tied the knot in the year 2000 and have a son named Lakshya. In addition to representing India in athletics, Virender Singh has won multiple medals at the national and international levels. He has coached several athletes, including his wife, Krishna Poonia.
Facts
- In February of 2022, Krishna Poonia was appointed president of the Rajasthan State Sports Council.
- After her mother perished when she was nine years old, Krishna Poonia was raised by her father and paternal grandmother.
- In 2013, Krishna Poonia resigned from Indian Railways and joined the Congress.
- Krishna Poonia earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Jaipur’s Kanoria PG Mahila Mahavidyalaya.
- At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, Krishna Poonia became the first Indian woman to earn a gold medal.
- With a throw of 61.5 metres, Krishna Poonia lead a historic clean sweep in the discus event.
- Krishna Poonia is the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in track and field events at the Commonwealth Games, and the first Indian to earn a gold medal in such an event since Milkha Singh, who won
- the gold in the Men’s 440-yard race at the 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games.
- In the 2012 London Olympics, Krishna Poonia finished a respectable sixth in the women’s discus throw.
- Krishna Poonia threw 62.42 metres on his first attempt, 61.61 metres on his third attempt, and 61.31 metres on his sixth and final attempt.
- In his second and fourth attempts, Krishna Poonia threw a pair of misses.
- In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress nominated Krishna Poonia to represent the Jaipur Rural constituency.
- Krishna Poonia ran against the BJP’s Olympian Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
- Rathore defeated Krishna Poonia by a margin of 3,93,171 ballots.
- Krishna Poonia has been assisting the Rajasthan State Health Ministry in its efforts to curtail female foeticide, as selective abortion of female foetuses is a pressing issue in India, particularly in Krishna
- Poonia’s home state of Haryana.
- Krishna Poonia is engaged in enhancing the infrastructure of children’s activities in Jaipur and throughout the nation.
