28-year old Karamjyoti Dalal from Haryana is the last Indian to feature at the Paralympics this year
Athletics
Event: Men's Shotput F57 Final
Athlete: Virender Dhankar
Time: 6:33pm IST
Event: Women's Discus Throw F55 Final
Athlete: Karamjyoti Dalal
Time: 6:40pm IST
Date
Time
Sport
Event
Athlete
Sept 17
18:33
Athletics
Men's Shotput F57 Final
Virender Dhankar
Sept 17
18:40
Athletics
Women's Discus Throw F55 Final
Karamjyoti Dalal
The last two athletes to take centre-stage at India’s final day of appearance at this year’s Paralympics are, incidentally, the last two people to be inducted into the final contingent. Before Russia was banned from participating in the Games, India’s squad consisted of 17 people.
Funnily enough, Virender Dhankar was not included in the original squad despite holding a World Rank of No 1 in his javelin category and fifth in the World in F57 Shotput. Prior to his confirmation, Virender was in the process of appealing to the PMO and the Ministry of Sports for help. However, it suffices to say that it all worked out for him in the end.
India has won four medals at the Games so far and has been unlucky enough to witness three fourth place finishes. The most recent one was Amit Kumar Saroha who missed out on a fifth medal for India behind Marian Kureja of Slovakia. September 17 will the country’s last chance to add to its medal tally.
Even if things stand as they currently do, four medals from a small and steady squad of 19 is a big achievement. Discus Thrower Karamjyoti Dalal is ranked 8th in the world in her event. Dalal is one of the two women fighting for Indian glory at Rio. Initially, a part of the Kabaddi set up in the country, she only took up para-athletics at the age of 20.
In less than a year, she won five major medals at various national and international competitions. She then went from being virtually unranked to break into the top 10 in the world. Her dedication has surely set an example for everyone. Her chances at a medal may seem to be slim based on her world ranking but bear in mind that silver medallist Deepa Malik was ranked 7th before her Paralympic win.
Virender Dhankar will be the first to perform out of the two athletes in contention tomorrow.
