17.17m on the podium: Manpreet Kaur makes history; she won the women’s shot put bronze at the Asian Games

Manpreet Kaur in action during the women’s shot put final Indian shot putter Manpreet Kaur made history on Friday by winning the bronze medal in the women’s shot put final at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya.The 36-year-old became only the third Indian woman to win an Asian Games shot put medal.Manpreet clinched bronze with a best throw of 17.17m to win her first Asian Games medal. She opened with a throw of 16.32 and improved each round before her medal effort in the fourth round.She fouled her sixth and final attempt, but it did not affect the outcome as she remained third in the field.The 36-year-old Manpreet hails from Patiala and her last major international appearance was a bronze at the 2023 Asian Championships. Her personal best is 18.06m from 2022.The bronze marks Manpreet’s return to the podium after more than a decade at the senior level. She returned to competition in 2021 after serving a four-year doping ban.At the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, Manpreet finished fifth. She narrowly missed out on a medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games earlier this year after finishing fourth with a throw of 17.49m.India’s other finalist, Krishna Jayasankar, finished fifth with a best throw of 16.57m.China’s Jiayuan Song won the gold medal with a throw of 19.40m, while China’s Linru Zhang took silver with 18.14m. Manpreet’s 17.17m was enough to secure bronze for India.