Paris Paralympics 2024: Ajeet Singh wins silver, Sundar Gurjar clinches bronze in men's javelin throw F46
For the fourth time at Paris Paralympics 2024, India achieved a double podium finish.
India’s medal count at the Paris Paralympics 2024 continued its steady rise, with the addition of two medals which were won in the men’s javelin throw F46 category on Tuesday. Ajeet Singh clinched the silver medal, while world record holder Sundar Gurjar pocketed bronze.
With these two medals, India’s tally has reached 20, eclipsing the nation’s best ever medal haul of 19 attained at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020. The number of medals won in para-athletics (10) touched double digits for the first time ever.
F46 class is reserved for athletes whose upper limbs have been affected by limb deficiency, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement.
Ajeet Singh achieved his personal best throw, measuring 65.62m to clinch silver. Sundar Gurjar attained his season best, measuring 64.96m to finish third in the charts. Cuban Guillermo Varona Gonzalez won gold, with his best throw of 66.14m smashing the South American Area Record.
India has had massive success in the men’s javelin throw F46 category previously, with Devendra Jhajharia having won two gold medals and one silver at the Paralympics. Fair to say, the legacy wasn’t caused any damage at Paris.
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Ajeet Singh wins silver
Ajeet Singh began with a distance of 59.80m to occupy third spot after the first set of throws. He then managed improvements in his next two throws, achieving a distance of 60.53m, and then 62.33m. He remained third after three throws.
The Indian, who incidentally turns 31 on Thursday, maintained his consistency, throwing 60.47m in his next attempt. The big moment came on his fifth throw, where he managed to achieve his personal best of 65.62m to rise to second spot and move closer to Guillermo ‘s throw. A foul on his sixth attempt meant he remained at second spot and clinched a silver.
The athlete from Nagla Bidhi village in Uttar Pradesh, who had lost his left arm below the elbow in a train accident in December 2017, got his moment of redemption after finishing fourth at the Tokyo Games. He is a two-time World Championship medallist, which includes a gold in 2023.
Sundar Gurjar clinches second consecutive Paralympics bronze
The 28-year-old athlete started off with a strong throw of 62.92m, which put him in silver medal position after the first set of throws. This was followed up with a throw of 61.75m. A foul on the third attempt, meant that he continued to stay second after the first set of throws.
Sundar improved upon it, securing his season best of 64.96m. However, he continued to remain at second spot. A foul attempt followed, and he was pushed to third spot by Ajeet. Another foul followed due to the extra effort put in order to thrust himself up to gold/silver medal position, which meant he secured a second consecutive third place finish at the Paralympics.
The lad from Karauli, Rajasthan had to undergo amputation from the wrist after a tin shade was dropped on his left hand at his friend’s house. He has had success on the world stage in multiple disciplines such as para discus throw, para shot put etc., along with para javelin throw.
Sundar is also the second Indian para-athlete after Jhajharia, to clinch two World Championship medals, including a gold in 2019.
En route to his gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games 2022, he had achieved a new world record measuring 68.60m.
Rinku Hooda finishes fifth
Meanwhile Rinku Hooda finished at fifth spot with his best throw measuring 61.58m—his season best. He started off with a throw measuring 57.34m and attained a distance of 60.58m on his third throw to move to fourth spot. The 25-year-old from Rohtak, Haryana was later pushed to the fifth spot.
Despite improving upon this on his sixth attempt to get his best throw of the night, Rinku couldn’t bring about a change in the rankings.
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