New Delhi: Dharambir broke the Asian record to claim the gold medal in the men’s club throw F-51 final event on Wednesday at the Stade de France in the ongoing Paris Paralympics. Fellow Indian athlete Pranav Soorma bagged the silver medal as India saw its first top-two podium finish in the same event in this edition.
Dharambir didn’t had an ideal start to his event as four fouls were recorded in a row. It took an enormous effort of 34.92m in the fifth attempt for the Sonepat-born para athlete to register the best throw of the event and eventually top the charts. The 35-year-old finished with a below-par 31.59m throw.
It was contrasting for Pranav as the 29-year-old hurled the club for 34.59m in his very first attempt. He could never better this mark in his next five attempts, including a foul in the third one, to settle for the silver against compatriot Dharambir in the 10-men final.
Zelijko Dimitrijevic of Serbia took the bronze home with his best effort of 34.18m. His compatriot Filip Graovac finished at fourth place with 32.21m among his six attempts.
Amit Kumar Saroha, who was the Indian in the contest, finished at the last spot (10th) with the best throw recorded as 23.96m. He was the silver medallist in the 2017 World Para Athletics Championship in London. It is noteworthy that Amit is the mentor of Dharmabir.
Athletes who have their movement affected to a high degree in the trunk, legs and hands competed under the F51 class of the club throw event. The competitors throw the club from a seating position and rely on the strengths of shoulder and arm to fetch the longer distance.
India moved up to 13th spot on Wednesday in medal tally
Late gold medals from Dharambir and para archer Harvinder Singh along with Pranav’s silver medal, India climbed from 19th to 13th position. Earlier in the day, Sachin Sajerao Khilari clinched silver medal in the men’s shot put F46 event to open the medal account after the Indian contingent bettered its medal haul on Tuesday with 20 medals, surpassing the 19 medals claimed at Tokyo three years ago. India has now accounted for five gold, nine silver and 10 bronze medals with a total of 24.
Dharambir broke the Asian record to claim the gold medal in the men’s club throw F-51 final event on Wednesday at the Stade de France in the ongoing Paris Paralympics. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
