The World Para Athletics Championships kicked off earlier this week in London on July 14 and after five days of intense action, India has secured two medals (1 gold, 1 silver). 21-year-old Sundar Singh Gujar won the gold on the opening night in the F46 men’s javelin throw event with a personal best effort of 60.36m. The silver medal was won by Amit Kumar Saroha, India’s first quadriplegic Paralympian, who won the medal in the men’s club throw F51 event.
Day 5 of the Championship witnessed a total of eight Indians participating in five different events – Men's Discus Throw F52, Men's Long Jump T42, Men's Shot Put F46, Men's Javelin Throw F44, and Men's Javelin Throw F57 Final.
In the first event of the day, the Men's Discus Throw F52 Finals, 32-year-old para-athlete Amit Kumar did not start.
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The second event for the day was the Men's Long Jump T42 Final which featured Indian para-athlete Vijay Kumar. 30-year-old Kumar registered a jump of 4.58m and could only manage the eighth spot. The event was won by Denmark’s Daniel Wagner with a Championship Record of 6.50m. Japan’s Atsushi Yamamoto finished runners-up.
The next event was the Men's Shot Put F46 Final which saw two Indians Yasser Mohammad and gold medalist Sundar Singh Gujar in the final fray. However, much to everyone’s disappointment Gujar missed a podium finish by miles having secured the eleventh position. Yasser Mohammad also finished in the bottom half of the table at 7th with a throw of 13.36m. China’s Enlong Wei won the gold while German Mathias Schulze clinched the silver.
The Men's Javelin Throw F44 Final saw the maximum Indian participation in a single event in the Championships. Three Indian para-athletes – Sandeep, Prasanna Kumar, and Narender featured in the finals.
34-year-old Sandeep agonisingly missed out on a medal with an effort of 53.04m, a tad less than bronze winner Alister McQueen’s throw of 55.72m. Prasanna Kumar and Narender both finished in the bottom half. Trinidad and Tobago’s Akeem Stewart took the pole position with a World Record throw of 57.61m. Helgi Sveinsson secured the silver with a Championship record throw of 56.74m.
The final event for the day was Men's Javelin Throw F57 Final. Lone Indian representative Virender finished at the fifth position with an effort of 38.78m. All three medals in the event were won by Iran.
After a disappointing fifth day, the Indian contingent will be aiming to add more medals to their existing tally of two. Day 6 will witness only one Indian, Deepak Singh participating in the Men's Javelin Throw F37 Final.
