Discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya clinched a silver medal in the men's F56 event of the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics, as athletics remained India's happy hunting ground.
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Shooter Avani Lekhara made India proud after winning the nation’s maiden gold medal in the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics on Monday. However, Monday could well have witnessed two gold medals following a stellar performance from 24-year-old Yogesh Kathuniya who made his presence felt in the Men’s Discus Throw F56 event. Yogesh was making his maiden appearance in an edition of the Paralympics but dominated the event for the most part of it, delivering a confident performance. The 24-year-old looked certain for a gold medal following a season-best throw of 44.38m.
However, Rio Paralympics gold medalist Batista dos Santos stepped up much to the agony of the Indian fans, setting a new Paralympics record with a throw of 45.59m. It was enough for the Brazilian to win gold as Yogesh slipped to the silver medal position. Cuba’s Diaz Aldana won the bronze medal in the event.
Yogesh started the final with a foul but followed it up with a throw of 42.84m in his second attempt. A couple more invalid throws were compensated for with an improved throw of 43.55m. Yogesh ensured a fantastic finish to proceedings, recording a silver-medal winning throw of 44.38m in his final attempt.
Indian athletes have now won seven medals so far in the ongoing edition of Paralympics. This represents their best effort in the history of the prestigious event, with the previous best being four medals at the Rio Paralympics in 2016, when they won two golds, one silver and one bronze.
“Outstanding performance by Yogesh Kathuniya. Delighted that he brings home the Silver medal. His exemplary success will motivate budding athletes. Congrats to him. Wishing him the very best for his future endeavours. #Paralympics,” read the tweet from PM Narendra Modi.
Outstanding performance by Yogesh Kathuniya. Delighted that he brings home the Silver medal. His exemplary success will motivate budding athletes. Congrats to him. Wishing him the very best for his future endeavours. #Paralympics
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 30, 2021
Yogesh suffered a paralytic attack at the age of 8, leaving him with an impaired limb coordination. However, that didn’t stop him from pursuing his passion and the para-athlete developed an interest in both the discus and javelin events.
“That was amazing. Winning the silver has given me so much more motivation to get the gold medal at Paris 2024. In the last 18 months the preparations have been very tough. In India there was a six month lockdown so every stadium was closed. When I could return to the stadium on a daily basis, I had to practice by myself. I couldn’t have a coach then and I am still training without a coach. It was a great moment that I could win the silver medal without a coach,” he stated as quoted by ESPN.
Yogesh has expressed a desire to shatter the world record in the next edition of Paralympics in 2024.
“I am going to work hard. I was just one metre away from the gold medal here, but in Paris I will want to break the world record. Today was not my day as I was fully prepared to break the world record here, but that was a barrier I just could not break,” he concluded.
