Balancing motherhood & PhD, discus thrower Seema dreaming of LA glory

One casual scroll through Seema Kaliramna’s Instagram profile will bring you to a post from July 24, 2025, where she posted the logo of Los Angeles 2028 Olympics with the caption, “Today I will start my journey for #la28 #la28olympics #la28games day-1/ 1450.

”It’s been more than a year since then and the discus thrower has been as focussed as possible on her target of winning multiple gold medals throughout the year including a top-of-the-podium finish at South Asian Senior Athletics Championships held in Ranchi last weekend.

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The 26-year-old also impressed at Asian Championships, finishing fourth with a throw of 56.15m. Her best throw of the year — 57.18m — though came at the national inter-state meet in Chennai.

But at the end of the season, she is quite disappointed after failing to cross the 60m mark, something that no Indian woman has achieved since 2021.“Something or the other kept me from giving my best. In Chennai the circle was slow, in Ranchi this time it was fast while during the open nationals they were making us throw in the rain. But at the end of the day winning the medals was quite satisfying,” Seema told TOI.Putting this year behind her, she is now focussed on the next season and wants to win a medal at the next Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.

And giving her all the support is coach Ravinder, who also happens to be her husband and the one who pushed Seema to take up the sport seriously.“At home he is my husband but when time comes to go to the training, he becomes my coach. He knows my limits, but he keeps pushing me and that helps me get better,” added the resident of Bhiwani, Haryana.Despite all the support, she lost valuable time a few years back when her left knee was injured and she was out of competition for more than three years.“The doctors asked me to get surgery, but we decided against it. Also, the pandemic began, so I got all the rest to heal my knee,” said Seema, who, during this time, decided to become a mother.Besides being a mother of a three-year-old son and an athlete, Seema is also pursuing a PhD at Chaudhary Bansi Lal University in Bhiwani and is currently awaiting registration. Her research topic is titled ‘Impact of Imagery and Positive Self-Talk Training on Athletic Performance’.

Naturally it's quite normal for her to be overwhelmed with everything but what’s good is that her parents and in-laws are there to take care of the kid and Ravinder takes care of the training and that helps her to concentrate on her classes and course work as and when required.“It’s not easy for someone to become an athlete on their own. It can be very challenging at times, and you need someone to help you handle the mental and physical pressure,” said Ravinder, who himself was a discus thrower and had dreamed of competing on the biggest stage but had to give it all up because of an injury.Now, he dreams through his wife, and together they hope to achieve that goal at the Los Angeles Olympics.