<p>At the Olympic Stadium tonight, India will have their eyes trained on a strapping Mysore-born athlete who knocked down another barrier on the world stage on Monday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Shortly past midnight (early Wednesday), Vikas Gowda will compete in the discus throw final at the Olympic Games, having become the first Indian man to qualify for the gold medal round in 36 years.<br /><br />In a confident display in the qualification round, the 29-year-old needed only two of the three throws to seal his spot in the final, with a best of 65.20M, his second-best career performance.<br /><br />Sriram Singh was the last Indian to compete in an Olympic final in men’s track and field, finishing seventh in the 800 metres at the Montreal Games in 1976.<br /><br />“Feels good, I have been training really hard and the aim is to do well in the final. I will go back, relax and prepare for the final now,” said Vikas. “It is nice to know that I am the first man to qualify for the final in 36 years but I hope I will be the first of many in the coming years,” he added.<br /><br />On a bright, cool morning, Vikas started with a 63.52M throw in the first round of Group A. <br />The qualifying distance being 65 metres or the top twelve across two groups, that left Vikas with some work to do.<br /><br />“The first throw would have been better but the discus slipped a bit in my hand. I must make sure that it doesn’t happen,” said Vikas, who holds the national record of 66.28, set in May.<br /><br />Apart from Vikas, only Iran’s Ehsan Hadadi met the automatic qualification mark in Group A, hurling the discus to 65.19M and finishing second behind the Indian in the group. But the big guns made it without a fuss from Group B.<br /><br />The final will be a tough proposition, with the likes of Robert Harting (season’s best of 70.66) of Germany, Pyotr Malachowski (68.94) of Poland, Virgilijus Alekna (70.28) of Lithuania expected to step it up.<br /><br />On Monday, Gerd Kanter of Estonia topped the qualifying list with a 66.39 followed by Harting (66.22), Jorge Fernandez of Cuba (65.34) and Lawrence Okoye of Great Britain (65.28). Vikas was fifth.<br /><br />“It will be tough to predict what will happen in the final. I am not a morning person, I perform better in the evening, so I hope I can do better in the final,” said Vikas, who is competing in this third Olympics, after Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.<br /><br />The final is scheduled at 15 minutes past midnight India time.<br /><br />Discus throw finalists with their Monday’s performance:<br /><br />Gerd Kanter (Estonia) 66.39 metres, Robert Harting (Germany) 66.22; Jorge Fernandez (Cuba) 65.34, Lawrence Okoye (Great Britain) 65.28, Vikas Gowda (India) 65.20, Ehsan Hadadi (Iran) 65.19; Pyotr Malachowski (Poland) 64.65; Martin Wierig (Germany) 64.13; Benn Harradine (Aus) 64.00; Virgilijus Alekna (Lithuania) 63.88; Frank Casanas (Spain) 63.76; Erik Cadee (Holland) 63.55.</p>
<p>At the Olympic Stadium tonight, India will have their eyes trained on a strapping Mysore-born athlete who knocked down another barrier on the world stage on Monday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Shortly past midnight (early Wednesday), Vikas Gowda will compete in the discus throw final at the Olympic Games, having become the first Indian man to qualify for the gold medal round in 36 years.<br /><br />In a confident display in the qualification round, the 29-year-old needed only two of the three throws to seal his spot in the final, with a best of 65.20M, his second-best career performance.<br /><br />Sriram Singh was the last Indian to compete in an Olympic final in men’s track and field, finishing seventh in the 800 metres at the Montreal Games in 1976.<br /><br />“Feels good, I have been training really hard and the aim is to do well in the final. I will go back, relax and prepare for the final now,” said Vikas. “It is nice to know that I am the first man to qualify for the final in 36 years but I hope I will be the first of many in the coming years,” he added.<br /><br />On a bright, cool morning, Vikas started with a 63.52M throw in the first round of Group A. <br />The qualifying distance being 65 metres or the top twelve across two groups, that left Vikas with some work to do.<br /><br />“The first throw would have been better but the discus slipped a bit in my hand. I must make sure that it doesn’t happen,” said Vikas, who holds the national record of 66.28, set in May.<br /><br />Apart from Vikas, only Iran’s Ehsan Hadadi met the automatic qualification mark in Group A, hurling the discus to 65.19M and finishing second behind the Indian in the group. But the big guns made it without a fuss from Group B.<br /><br />The final will be a tough proposition, with the likes of Robert Harting (season’s best of 70.66) of Germany, Pyotr Malachowski (68.94) of Poland, Virgilijus Alekna (70.28) of Lithuania expected to step it up.<br /><br />On Monday, Gerd Kanter of Estonia topped the qualifying list with a 66.39 followed by Harting (66.22), Jorge Fernandez of Cuba (65.34) and Lawrence Okoye of Great Britain (65.28). Vikas was fifth.<br /><br />“It will be tough to predict what will happen in the final. I am not a morning person, I perform better in the evening, so I hope I can do better in the final,” said Vikas, who is competing in this third Olympics, after Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.<br /><br />The final is scheduled at 15 minutes past midnight India time.<br /><br />Discus throw finalists with their Monday’s performance:<br /><br />Gerd Kanter (Estonia) 66.39 metres, Robert Harting (Germany) 66.22; Jorge Fernandez (Cuba) 65.34, Lawrence Okoye (Great Britain) 65.28, Vikas Gowda (India) 65.20, Ehsan Hadadi (Iran) 65.19; Pyotr Malachowski (Poland) 64.65; Martin Wierig (Germany) 64.13; Benn Harradine (Aus) 64.00; Virgilijus Alekna (Lithuania) 63.88; Frank Casanas (Spain) 63.76; Erik Cadee (Holland) 63.55.</p>
