Manpreet Kaur has won a bronze medal in the shot put at the Asian Games in Japan. After winning the medal, she had mixed emotions. Happy with the achievement, the mother of a 15-year-old said she had hoped to change the colour of her medal and believed she could have performed better. She represents Haryana.“I am happy, but I wanted to change the colour of the medal. Still, it is all okay,” she told The Tribune after her event.The moment, however, was deeply emotional for Manpreet as she remembered her late father and father-in-law, both of whom had dreamt of seeing her reach where she is today.As Manpreet spoke to The Tribune over the phone, she became emotional while recalling both her father and father-in-law, and her voice choked with emotion.Born in a village in Nabha, Manpreet was in Class 6 when her father passed away. He had always wanted his daughter to take up sports. After his death, she moved to Fatehgarh Sahib, where she was raised by her paternal relatives. It was her cousin, Jagjit Singh Randhawa, who introduced her to athletics and became her first coach.“She initially started with the 100-metre sprint, but after she suffered an injury, she switched to shot put,” said Randhawa.Her journey in the sport continued after she married Karamjit Singh, who is also her coach. Karamjit, along with their daughter, was in Japan to watch Manpreet compete.For Manpreet, the presence of her teenage daughter at the Asian Games was another emotional moment. Her daughter will turn 15 next month.“She will turn 15 next month. I don’t know when she became so grown up. She understands everything and also supports me. Sports has kept me so engaged,” Manpreet said.She also became emotional as she recalled her father-in-law, whom she lost a few years ago.“Even in his last days, he would tell me to go and practise shot put and make my throw better. And I did what he wanted. I kept on working towards his dream,” she said.