Fazza International Championships: Indian para-athletes win three medals on opening day

Indian para-athletes Dharambir and Devendra Singh won silver medals as India won three medals on the opening day of the Fazza International Championships. Jyoti Behera was the third medalist as she won bronze in the 400m event.

In the club throw final F32/51, Dharambir, a 2018 Asian Para Games silver medallist, threw a distance of 31.09m in his second attempt to finish second behind Algeria’s Walid Ferhah. The Algerian para-athlete threw a distance of 37.42m. Great Britain’s Stephen Miller took the bronze with 29.28 m.

Jyoti Behera won the bronze medal in the 400m women’s final T37/38/47 final.

Devendra settled for the silver medal in men’s discus throw F44 after hurling the discus to a distance of 50.36m in the combined F42/43/44 category.

Kuwait’s Faisal Sorour, the Tokyo Paralympics bronze medallist, won the gold medal with a throw of 47.61m. He also set a new Asian record in the process. France’s Badr Touzi won the bronze medal with a throw of 39.16m.

Devendra happy to win medal at Fazza International Championships

The 28-year-old Devendra said he was happy to have won the silver medal at the Fazza International Championships, after overcoming adversities, including a COVID-19 infection.

“I am very happy with the result here. A few months back, I wasn’t sure if I was competing in the Fazza International Championships due to health reasons. I was down with COVID-19 and hardly trained in the past few months. We have important events in the year ahead, so it was good to start the year with a medal,” he said.

Overall, six records were broken on the opening day, including one world record.

Columbia’s Tokyo Paralympic champion Jose Gregorio Lemos Rivas stole the limelight in men’s javelin final when he hurled the javelin to a distance of 60.58m for a new world record and a gold medal.

The Championships hold significance as athletes aim to achieve the Minimum Qualification Standard for the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Para Games.