Indian discus thrower Seema Kaliramna, who is also pursuing her PhD currently, won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow last month.
Published: August 31, 2026, 1:49 PM IST
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Indian discus thrower Seema Kaliramna(Source: X)
Asian Games 2026: India’s ace discus thrower Seema Kaliramna won her maiden international medal for India, bringing home a bronze medal from the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow last monthSeema finished behind Jamaica’s Samantha Hall (61.66m) and Canada’s Julia Tunks (60.67m) with a throw of 58.66m to finish in third place in the discus throw final.
Seema now has her sights set to the Asian Games 2026 which begin in Aichi-Nagoya in Japan from September 19The 27-year-old is aiming to back up her fine show in the CWG 2026 with another big medal in Japan.
In an exclusive interview with India.com, Seema Kaliramna feels that the competition in CWG 2026 was tougher as compared to the field at Asian Games 2026 next monthSeema believes that she is well placed to win her maiden Asian Games medal.
“I think the competition in CWG 2026 was much tougher as compared to Asian Games 2026The qualification mark was higher as compared to Asian GamesSo we should be in contention of medal for sure,” Seema Kaliramna told India.com in an exclusive interview.
“I am a mother, and it been very difficult staying away from my sonI miss him a lotAnother challenge has been the lack of financial supportIf I had a job, it would have provided some security, especially in cases of injuries”
– Seema Kaliramna pic.twitter.com/9DHwWVRUBf
— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) July 31, 2026
Seema believes China’s Feng Ben will be the major competition for India in the quadrennial Asian tournamentFeng is a silver medallist at Paris Olympics 2024 and a Gold medallist at the Asian Games 2022 in HangzhouShe achieved her personal best of 69.12m in 2022.
“China’s Feng Ben will be major competition for us in Asian GamesShe is a medallist at the Olympics and has a personal best of over 69mBut we should be close to the top at Asian Games,” Seema added.
Seema Kaliramna will be heading into the Asian Games 2026 after an impressive showing at the World Athletics Silver Level Continental Tour 2026 in Bhubaneswar last month“Every athlete can continue improving every dayAt the Asian Silver Level Continental event, I managed a throw of above 57m which was not badRight now my entire focus is on Asian Games,” she said.
Colour of medal could have been changed at CWG 2026: Seema Kaliramna
Seema, who achieved a personal best of 59.73m at the Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships to book her berth in the CWG 2026, revealed that everyone around her thought that a gold or silver medal was within reach at Glasgow.
“It was quite late at night in India when I finished my final in Glasgow – around 1030pmBut the athletics federation secretary as well as our chief coach had one thing to say, ‘the colour of medal could have been changed’Our expectation was to hit around 60m-plus with the throwBut the weather at Glasgow was quite cold, so we couldn’t quite hit that mark,” Seema said about her performance at Commonwealth Games.
However, Seema is prepared for hot and humid weather in Japan for the Asian Games 2026 next month and believes that it will be an advantage since she is training in India currently“We are preparing according to the conditions in JapanIt is quite hot and humid here and raining as well almost everydayI am preparing myself to throw in rain as well and we shouldn’t face as much as problems as we faced in Scotland,” she said.
‘My studies have never been a barrier in my sporting career’
Seema Kaliramna is currently pursuing PhD in Physical Education at Chaudhary Bansi Lal (CBLU) in Bhiwani, HaryanaIn addition to this, Seema is also a mother of four-year-old son.
Asked how she manages to juggle all these responsibilities, Seema said, “My studies have never been a barrier to my sporting careerI always study on weekends when I am not trainingEven when I am between events or in off-season, I get back to studyingEven if my body is tired, I get back to my studies some times.
“Talking about my son, he usually spends most to his time with his grandparents – either paternal or maternalWhen there is full support of my family, there is not much pressure,” she said.
Seema Kaliramna will be competing in an Athletics meet in Delhi on September 10, which is compulsory for all athletes headed to Asian Games 2026After competing in Delhi, she will be flying out to Japan on September 13.
The discus thrower is currently supported by JSW’s Inspire Institute of Sports (IIS) for the last one and half years“I’ve been receiving support from IIS for the past one and a half yearsWhether it’s physio, massage, accommodation, or travel, everything is taken care of by IISYou must have seen that my husband accompanied me to the Commonwealth Games, and even that was supported by IIS,” Seema said.
