I need to spend time with my son: Poonia

A streak of discont­e­nt still lingers in Krishna Poonia’s tone, but is often interspersed with a sense of re­l­ief, having put on a considerable, though not a medal-pr­oducing effort. As in the constabulary cycle of any athlete, the disappointment is sedately replaced by expectancy, fr­esh challenges, fresher ideas or even fresh perspectives.

But for discus thrower Poonia, who finished a middling se­venth in her event in the Olympics, it isn’t the extraneous din of another big fixture that she is looking forward to, but rather the more elemental bliss of motherhood. “In fact since the birth of my son ( 10-year-old Lakshya), I have sp­e­nt very little time with him. And more often he has missed his father as well, because he accompanies me to all tournaments. So we have missed him as much as he has missed us. So my next priority is to spend a lot of time with him, take care of his little things and enjoy the quiet life of a mo­ther,” she said.

Trooping from one venue to the other, apart from stringent training routines that consume a bulk of her day ho­urs, she misses her son the mo­­st. But she quickly puts th­at into perspective. “You have to make sacrifices to achieve anything substantial. So I do­n’t regret making them, and god has really rewarded my sa­crifices,” she said.

She might have alluded to her Commonwealth Games go­ld and the Asian Games br­o­nze. It could have been more rewarding to have had an Olympic medal, placed alongside or rather higher, to showcase. But that isn’t to be. “Of course, it’s every athlete’s dre­am. I trained and prepared hard for it. A lot of people supported me and my distance was also getting better by eve­ry tournament. All I can say is I tried my best, but I couldn’t quite manage a medal. But I ta­ke heart from that it was much than my Beijing experie­n­ce. At least, I’m improving,” she said.

She hopes to return for 2014 CWG and Asia Games. “I want to win more medals and make my country proud ag­ain. The driving factor is again the Rio Olympics. I have to make mo­re sacrifices and would have to spend more time away from him (Laksh­ya). A lot of people asked me about retirement, but I have not even fiddled wi­th that id­ea,” she chuckled.