Poonia’s Rio hopes end

The deadline to qualify for the Rio Olympics ends on Monday.

Krishna Poonia.

Discus thrower Krishna Poonia’s efforts to qualify for the Rio Olympics ended with a disappointing 57.10m throw in the JAC Twilight Total Eclipse of the Heart athletics meet in Florida on Saturday.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games champion, who finished sixth in the 2012 London Olympics, won the event but her best was far from the Rio Olympics qualifying standard of 61m.

“No more events for us, this is our last one,” Virender Poonia, her husband and coach, told

The Hindu from Florida. “No more Olympics for us. She will only be working for the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games after this.”

The deadline to qualify for the Rio Olympics ends on Monday.

Krishna Poonia, whose personal best of 64.76m came four years ago in the US, and men’s discus thrower Vikas Gowda were the only two Indians to enter the final of an individual athletics event at the 2012 London Olympics.