SEEMA ANTIL BIOGRAPHY: Seema Antil is an Indian Discus Thrower who represents India at the Women’s Discus Throw events. Her personal best is 62.62 m (205.4 ft), that she achieved at the Pat Young’s Throwers Classic 2016 at Salinas (California) in the US.
EARLY LIFE:
Brothers- Amitpal Antil (hockey players) & Anandapan Antil (wrestler)
Seema Antil was born in Khewda village of Sonipat district in Haryana. Seema had a keen interest in athletics owing to her family background of sports. When she was 11 years old, Seema started her sporting career as a hurdler and a long-jumper. Later she decided to try discus throw and realised how good she was at it. Her talent was visible at several inter-state meets. She was the youngest among all her siblings. Both her brothers are Amitpal and Ananadpan are athletes. Amitpal plays hockey while Anandapan is a wrestler by profession.
PERSONAL LIFE:
Seema is married to Ankush Punia who is a former discus thrower and represented India at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The couple tied the knots in February 2011 in Sonipat, Haryana. Ankush has been Seema’s mentor and also helped her improve her performance significantly. They live in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. After Seema won the gold medal at the World Junior Championships in 2000, she earned a nickname “Millennium Child” from the people.
Seema joined Haryana Police as a sub-inspector in 2010 as she was offered the job by the Haryana government. Seema has faced a lot of downfalls in her life. The expenses were in lakhs. Her basic footwear cost her almost 10 thousand rupees. Due to the rigorous nature of her sports, there was a lot of wear and tear. There used to be days when he had to replace her gear daily. After she received some cash prizes, she could finally clear all her debt. Seema had to pay for all her sporting expenses from her own pockets. It was her husband Ankush who helped her the entire time.
PROFESSIONAL LIFE:
Coach- Ankush Punia (Husband)
Rio Olympics Qualification- She qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympics with a gold medal-winning performance at the Pat Young Throwers Classic in Salinas.
Seema has made appearances in many sporting events and has also won numerous medals in them. Her professional career started after she won the National Championship with a throw of 57.30 metres during her college days. That was perhaps the starting points of her career. Since then Seema never seemed to look back as she started winning more medals at the sports events. Seema won the gold medal at the World Junior Championships in 2000, she earned a nickname “Millennium Child”.
Then Seema went on to win the bronze medal in the next World Junior Championships in 2002. Her successful run of medals didn’t stop as she won a Silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in discus throw event. After that, she was felicitated with the Bhim Award by the Haryana Government. Seema attracted media attention by not participating in 2006 Asian Games following her controversy of being tested positive for the consumption of asteroid (stanozolol) prior to the Games, but was cleared to participate by her National Federation. She still decided to opt out of the team and not participate in that event.
Seema then participated in the next edition of the Commonwealth Games where she won a bronze medal in the discus throw event. At the 2012 London Olympics, which was her second Olympic appearance, she finished 13th with a throw of 61.91 m. She had previously participated in 2004 Athens Olympics where she came 14th. She didn’t win anything there but managed to come 13th in her respective event. Her good run in Commonwealth Games continued as she went on to win a Silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The same year saw her finishing with a gold medal at the Asian Games in 2014. The Incheon Asian Games brought about a new era of her career. Her stunning throw of 61.03m enabled her to clinch the gold. She inaugurated the athletic medals at the Asiads too.
After missing out on two Asiads, the gold was truly golden for Seema that came at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. A long-cherished dream was finally fulfilled.Her last medal being the latest in 2018 Asian Games where she won a Bronze medal in the women’s discus throw event. She gives credit to her husband and coach, Ankush Punia who trained her in her entire career.
PERSONAL INFORMATION:
Date of Birth- 27 July 1983
Age (as of 2019)- 36 years old
Gender- Female
Birthplace- Sonipat, Haryana, India
Complexion- Wheatish
Zodiac sign- Leo
Nationality- Indian
Hometown- Haryana
Nick name- Millennium Child
School- Not Known
College- Government College, Haryana
Occupation- Track & Field
Event- Discus Throw
Net worth- Not Known
Qualification- Graduated
Religion- Hinduism
Ethnicity- Jatt
Sexual Orientation- Straight
Hobbies- Watching TV and spending time with Family.
Tattoo – NO
Smoking- NO
PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS:
Height- 5-11.5 (182 cm)
Weight (approx.) – 203 lbs (92 kg)
Eye Color- Black
Hair Color- Black
CONTROVERSIES:
Seema has been involved in controversies twice in her entire career. The first time being in her first International event in World Junior Championships in 2000. She was found guilty because of being tested for the consumption of a banned drug (pseudoephedrine). As per the rules in force at that time for such an offence, her National Federation issued her a public warning after stripping her of the medal. Seema ended up without any medal after the introspection.
Later Seema admitted that she consumed a tablet fr she had cold. She wasn’t aware of the fact that the medicine contained a banned substance. Another time she found herself struck in a controversy after she was tested positive for a steroid (stanozolol) stimulation prior to the Games but was cleared to participate by her National Federation.
H0wever, she did not participated in the event and decided to opt out of the women’s team. Later, she cited the reason that she was not mentally prepared to face the event and competition as she was not in a right state of mind due to her father’s illness and also lack of practice as she was initially barred from participating. Having regular injuries also hampered her career as she had to be off field in the healing period.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- Bronze Medal at the World Junior Championships in 2002
- Silver Medal at Commonwealth Games in 2006
- Haryana State Government awarded the Bhim Award to Seema in 2006.
- Bronze Medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2010
- Silver Medal at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014
- Silver Medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2018
| Year | Place | Event | Medals |
| 2002 | Santiago, Chile | Discus Throw | Bronze |
| 2006 | Melbourne, Australia | Discus Throw | Silver |
| 2010 | Delhi, India | Discus Throw | Bronze |
| 2014 | Incheon, South Korea | Discus Throw | Gold |
| 2014 | Glasgow, Scotland | Discus Throw | Silver |
| 2018 | Jakarta, Indonesia | Discus Throw | Bronze |
| 2018 | Gold Coast, Australia | Discus Throw | Silver |
Career Highlights- Seema has remarkably and consistently performed at the Commonwealth Games. She added another silver medal to her tally in 2018. Thus, she has three silver and one bronze medals in the discus throw at the Commonwealth Games.
NET WORTH:
In 2010 Haryana Government offered her a job of sub-inspector in Haryana Police. She joined the force in the following year. Seema was also awarded a cash prize of 50 lakh rupees after her 2014 Asian Games gold. She is a government employee. However, her net worth is not revealed.
SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES:
Twitter: NA
Instagram: @seemaapunia ( https://www.instagram.com/seemaapunia/?hl=en )
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