Paralympics 2021: Vinod Kumar found “ineligible” for F52 classification, bronze medal cancelled in discus throw

Indian discus thrower Vinod Kumar’s discus throw bronze medal was canceled after he was found “ineligible” for F52 classification by the classification panel.

Vinod Kumar, 41, registered a best throw of 19.91m to finish third behind Poland’s Piotr Kosewicz (20.02m) and Croatia’s Velimir Sandor (19.98m) on Sunday. However, several competitors challenged Vinod Kumar's result.

The organizers said in a statement:

"Following the classification Observation Assesment in the competition and subsequent re-assessment by the classification panel, the panel was unable to allocate the athlete Vinod Kumar from NPC India with a sport class and the athlete was designated as Classification not Completed (CNC)."

They added:

"The athlete is therefore ineligible for the Men's F52 Discus medal event and his results in that competition are void."

As per the Paralympic guidelines, an athlete is eligible under F52 classification if s/he is impaired by muscle power, has restricted range of movement, limb deficiency or leg length difference.

Just In: India's Vinod Kumar loses men's F52 discus throw #Bronze after being found ineligible in disability classification assessment!#TokyoParalympics | #Praise4Para pic.twitter.com/yWZUgAvjR9

— Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) August 30, 2021

Athletes have full power and movement in their arms, but no power in their abdominal muscles and typically no sitting balance. An athlete with partial to full trunk control but with upper limbs that fit the F53 profile is appropriately placed in this class.

Para-athletes are classified depending on the type and extent of their disability. The classification system allows athletes to compete with those with a similar level of ability.

This also puts questions over the International Paralympic Committee that had classified Vinod Kumar in the T/52 category on August 22.

The classification is reviewed by IPC every two or three years depending on the category. Indian athlete Tek Chand was also re-classified and moved to F55 from F54.

Other Indians were luckier than Vinod Kumar

Meanwhile, Avani Lekhara created history earlier on Monday by becoming the first para-shooter to win a gold medal at the Paralympics.

Devendra Jhajharia, on the other hand, won his third Paralympics medal. He settled for a silver medal in the F46 javelin throw. Sundar Singh Gurjar won bronze in the same event.