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It was an exciting yet tense moment for India’s 28-year-old defending champion, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, at the 19th Asian Games on Sunday in Hangzhou, China.
A day after India’s continental record holder won back-to-back Asian Games titles, Toor shared his thoughts---what went through his mind during the men’s shot put final in Hangzhou.
Toor's opening two throws did not register. He took time to settle down for two reasons.
Firstly, despite having fully recovered from a niggle, he didn't want to push too hard from the start to avoid aggravating his groin pain. The second reason was that the throwing circle was slow, and the Indian thrower took time to adjust.
“I was a bit tense. There was some pressure during the third throw. I took a few deep breaths. And, went ahead to take my chance,” Toor explained about his state of mind over the phone from Hangzhou on Monday.
Toor’s third throw was 19.51m, which brought him into the bronze medal position. The fourth attempt was better---20.06m-- the Indian took pole position. But the lead was temporary as his rival from Saudi Arabia---Mohamed Daouda Tolo surged ahead with a throw of 20.18m.
“I wasn’t pressing hard. There was a fear in my mind about recurring groin injury,” the Asian Games champion told Sportskeeda.
Toor was in the silver medal position at the end of the fifth round. But he wasn’t satisfied. He had one last chance in the sixth round to prove his mettle.
“It was a do or die situation for me. I didn’t give up. I was thankful to God for giving me strength to fight back and win back-to-back Asian Games titles,” recalls the champion thrower.
Toor’s last and final throw was 20.36m, which fetched him the gold medal. Meanwhile, Tolo from Saudi Arabia wasn’t able to improve on his last and final throw and settled for silver in the competition.
Toor started his packed 2023 season on a promising note, dominating the domestic competition that started in March.
He improved his Asian record to 21.77m in mid-June at the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
Despite having an issue of groin injury, Toor managed to win gold at the July 12-16 Asian Athletics Championships. The next four to six weeks were challenging. He skipped the August 19-27 Budapest World Athletics Championships held in Hungary.
After the Asian championships in July, Toor said he took it easy for four weeks to recover from a groin injury.
“I could only manage four good sessions in the last two months as most of the training was standing throws,” Toor revealed.
The next calendar year is equally important for Toor as it features the Paris Olympics. After the Hangzhou Asian Games, Toor might compete at the National Games in Goa. “It all depends on my health,” the champion thrower added.
