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Asian Games bronze medal winner discus thrower Seema Punia will donate her entire pocket money of USD 700 and an additional one lakh rupees to help the flood affected people of Kerala.
The 35-year-old Seema could not defend the gold she had won in the 2014 Asian Games and had to settle with a bronze with a best throw of 62.26m.
Seema also urged other athletes to make donations to help the people of Kerala affected by the devastating flood.
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The Haryana athlete said she was suffering with a bone spur in her left foot and will undergo surgery after coming back from Kerala.
Seema's best throw came in her third attempt which was better than her gold- winning effort at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, where she had managed 61.03m. It was also her season-best throw but not good enough to prevent a Chinese one-two.
Seema also wondered how long she need to prove herself to get an Arjuna Award.
At present Seema is a sub-inspector with the Haryana police.
Seema also requested the Sports Ministry to double the allowance of masseurs attached with the Indian contingent.
"They get only Rs 700 a day. It's not enough," she said.
Talking about her performance, Seema, who has four Commonwealth Games medals in her kitty apart from an Asiad gold in Incheon, said a poor first throw disturbed her "tempo".
At 2016 Rio Olympics, Seema had finished 20th, her worst performance in three Olympics.
(With inputs from PTI)
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