New Delhi: Yogesh Kathuniya, a discus thrower will be representing India at the upcoming Paris Paralympics 2024 and will be aiming to bag his maiden gold medal in the showpiece event. Kathuniya was diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder when he was just 9 years old which reduced him to a wheelchair as he couldn’t walk anymore.
Coming from a humble background, Kathuniya’s family could afford only one month of his physiotherapy cost. However, it was his mother, who decided to take matters into her own hands and turned a physio for her son to support him during his treatment. Thanks to his mother’s efforts, Kathunya started to walk again, albeit with a lot of difficulties but nothing could deter him from pursuing his dreams.
Kathuniya was a bright student and focused more on his studies after being diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome. Thanks to his academic excellence, he got admitted into the prestigious Kirori Mal College in Delhi University where his journey in para sports also kicked off. He got into para athletics while in college in 2016 and tried his hands at shot put, javelin throw and discus throw before deciding to stick to discus throw.
Silver at Tokyo Paralympics
It took a couple of years of training for Kathuniya before he announced himself on the big stage by smashing the world record in the F36 category in the discus throw with a 45.18m effort at the 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships in Berlin. There was no stopping from there as the 27-year-old grew in confidence with each passing tournament.
He won a bronze medal in the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai in 2019 before winning a silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics in the F56 category in 2021. Kathuniya has won two more silver medals at the World Championships since his silver medal triumph at the Tokyo Games and will be aiming to bag the elusive gold medal at the Paris Paralympics this year.
Discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya will be looking to change his medal colour from silver to gold when he taked the field for India at the Paris Paralympics 2024. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
