Manpreet Kaur wins Asian Games shot put bronze with 17.17m throw in Nagoya
Synopsis
Manpreet Kaur's 17.17m bronze in Nagoya is more than a podium finish — it is the culmination of a career interrupted by a four-year doping ban, a missed medal at CWG 2026, and years of rebuilding. She is now only the third Indian woman to win an Asian Games shot put medal, a line that stretches back to Barbara Webster in 1951.
Key Takeaways
Manpreet Kaur won the women's shot put bronze at the Asian Games on 25 September 2026 with a throw of 17.17m in Nagoya .
Song Jiayuan (China) won gold and Zhang Linru (China) took silver; the Indian secured third on her fourth throw .
Fellow Indian Krishna Jayasankar Menon finished fifth with a best of 16.57m .
Manpreet is only the third Indian woman to win an Asian Games shot put medal, after Barbara Webster (1951) and Kiran Baliyan (2022) .
She previously served a four-year ban after the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships and made her comeback in 2022 , breaking the national record with 18.06m .
At CWG 2026 , she had narrowly missed a medal, finishing fourth with 17.49m .
Manpreet Kaur claimed a bronze medal in the women's shot put final at the Asian Games on 25 September 2026, hurling the iron ball to a distance of 17.17m at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Japan. The veteran Indian athlete secured the podium finish on her fourth throw, becoming only the third Indian woman ever to win an Asian Games shot put medal.
How the Final Unfolded
The Chinese duo dominated the top two spots, with Song Jiayuan claiming gold and Zhang Linru taking silver. Manpreet's 17.17m effort was enough to hold off the rest of the field for third place. The other Indian in the competition, Krishna Jayasankar Menon, put up a commendable display, registering a best distance of 16.57m to finish fifth.
A Career Defined by Resilience
Manpreet's journey to this bronze is one of Indian athletics' more remarkable comeback stories. She won the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships gold medal, but subsequently tested positive for banned substances, resulting in a four-year ban and the forfeiture of that title. She returned to competition in 2022, immediately breaking the national record with a throw of 18.06m. At the previous Asian Games, she had finished fifth.
More recently, at the Commonwealth Games 2026, Manpreet narrowly missed a medal, finishing fourth with a throw of 17.49m — a result that made Friday's bronze all the more significant. She also represented India at the 2016 Olympic Games, where she placed 23rd.
Historic Significance for Indian Athletics
With this medal, Manpreet becomes only the third Indian woman to stand on the Asian Games shot put podium. Before her, Barbara Webster won bronze in 1951 and Kiran Baliyan claimed bronze at the 2022 Asian Games. The achievement underlines a slow but steady improvement in Indian women's field events at the continental level.
Manpreet had arrived in Nagoya in strong form, having won the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in 2026 with a throw of 17.75m, well above the Asian Games qualification standard of 16.25m. She had also earned a bronze at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships with a throw of 17.00m.
What Comes Next
The result will boost India's athletics medal tally at Nagoya and is likely to fuel fresh conversations around investment in women's field events. For Manpreet, now a decorated comeback athlete at the Asian level, the focus will turn to sustaining this form ahead of the next Olympic cycle.
Point of View
The lost 2017 gold, the near-miss at CWG 2026: each setback makes this Nagoya podium more layered than the scoreboard suggests. Yet the broader picture demands scrutiny: India's women's field events remain thin at the top, with Manpreet carrying the weight almost alone. Krishna Jayasankar Menon's fifth-place finish hints at the pipeline forming, but the gap between a 16.57m and a podium throw is still significant. If this bronze prompts a systemic push — better facilities, anti-doping education, and international exposure for young throwers — it will matter far beyond the medal count.
NationPress
25 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What distance did Manpreet Kaur throw to win the Asian Games bronze?
Manpreet Kaur threw 17.17m on her fourth attempt to claim the bronze medal in the women's shot put final at the Asian Games on 25 September 2026 in Nagoya. China's Song Jiayuan won gold and Zhang Linru took silver.
How did Krishna Jayasankar Menon perform at the Asian Games shot put?
Krishna Jayasankar Menon, the other Indian in the women's shot put final, registered a best distance of 16.57m and finished fifth. It was nonetheless described as an impressive performance for the youngster on the Asian Games stage.
Why is Manpreet Kaur's Asian Games bronze historically significant?
Manpreet is only the third Indian woman to win an Asian Games shot put medal, after Barbara Webster in 1951 and Kiran Baliyan at the 2022 Asian Games. The achievement also caps a personal comeback from a four-year doping ban imposed after 2017.
What is Manpreet Kaur's doping history?
Manpreet won the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships gold but subsequently tested positive for banned substances, leading to a four-year ban and the forfeiture of her gold medal. She returned to competition in 2022 and broke the national record with a throw of 18.06m.
How had Manpreet Kaur performed at recent major championships before Nagoya?
At the Commonwealth Games 2026, Manpreet finished fourth with 17.49m, narrowly missing a medal. She had previously won bronze at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships with 17.00m and also competed at the 2016 Olympics, finishing 23rd.
