What’s the story?
Indian athletes did the nation proud winning 1 gold, 3 silver & 3 bronze medals on the first day of the World Para Athletics Grand Prix being held in Beijing, China.
In case you did not know
Organized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Para Athletic Championships take place biennially and welcome sportspersons and athletes with any form of disability to take part and compete. Prior to 2017, the event was known as the IPC Athletics World Championships and used to take place every four years until 2011.
London, who have previously hosted both the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics, will become the first city to host both the IAAF World Championships and the World ParaAthletics Championships in the same year. The London event will also be the first under the new brand "World ParaAthletics Championships".
The heart of the matter
Services athlete Ramudri Someshwara Rao won the gold in 200m men T44 category clocking a time of 25.29 secs, while Vinay Kumar Lal claimed the silver in the same event with a timing of 26.15 secs. The other two silverwares were won by athletes Aamit Kumar and Jayanti Behera respectively. Kumar won his silver in the men T46 200m with a time of 23.11 sec, finishing behind China’s Wang Hao. Jayanti Behera claimed her silver in the T47 women 200m with a time of 28.50 secs.
The 3 bronze medals were won by Mohammed Yasser, Sema Hokato and Vikas Dagar in the F46 men shot putt, F42/44 men shot-put, and T35/36 men 200m events respectively.
What’s next?
Both Ramudri Someshwara Rao and Hokato Sema have qualified for the Para-Athletics World Championships and will represent the country in London later this year.
Also, javelin para-athlete Sandeep Choudhary, currently ranked 54 in the official world rankings, will fly to London for the Championships. Sandeep registered a gigantic throw of 56.52m at the Indian trials to seal his berth in the 2017 World Championships.
Author’s take
It is always heartening to see Indian athletes make the nation proud in an international competition. We wish that the athletes can carry on their impeccable streak and make the nation proud in London. We wish the entire Indian contingent all the very best for their future!
