Indian athletes continued their strong performance at the World Para Athletics Championships on Saturday. The country won one silver and two bronze medals, taking India’s total to 18 medals six gold, six silver, and six bronze. This is India’s best-ever performance at the event, beating the previous record of 17 medals in Kobe 2024. Brazil stayed at the top of the standings with a total of 37 medals
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| Image Source: Business Standard |
Praveen Kumar won a bronze medal in the men’s T64 high jump event. He was competing with a hip injury but still managed a jump of 2.00 metres, his best performance this season. The gold medal went to Uzbekistan’s Temurbek Giyazov, who jumped 2.03 metres, while Great Britain’s Jonathan Broom-Edwards got the silver. Praveen cleared 2.00 metres on his second attempt, finishing third behind the Briton on countback.
Praveen said that he had been struggling with a hip injury for the last 10 to 12 days, which forced him to shorten his run-up. He explained that he was not happy with his performance because he was jumping 2.07 metres in training before the injury. He also shared that he felt pain whenever he took off for a jump. However, he believes his injury will heal in one to two months, and he is already focused on defending his Asian Para Games gold next year.
Another Indian high jumper, Banti, also competed in the same event. The 22-year-old finished sixth with his personal best jump of 1.87 metres. Praveen complimented Banti and said he has great potential to cross 2.00 metres in future competitions if he takes care of his body and fitness.
In the women’s club throw F51 category, Ekta Bhyan won the silver medal. She recorded her season’s best throw of 19.80 metres on her final attempt. Ukraine’s Zoia Ovsii won the gold medal with a throw of 24.03 metres, while Neutral Para Athlete Ekaterina Potapova took bronze with 18.60 metres. Ekta said she was happy even though she could not defend her 2024 world title. She celebrated her third Worlds medal and said her focus has now shifted to the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics.
Ekta competes in the F51 category for athletes who have limited muscle movement and no leg function. She shared that the hot and humid weather made the event very difficult, especially while trying to keep her body temperature stable. She said she was relieved that the event went well even though gold was her main target.
The third medal of the day for India came from shot put athlete Soman Rana. The 42-year-old army veteran won bronze in the men’s F57 category with a season’s best throw of 14.69 metres, achieved on his fourth attempt. His medal could be upgraded to silver after an appeal against Brazilian athlete Thiago Paulino Dos Santos, who finished ahead of him. The final decision will be announced on Sunday.
Soman lost his right leg in a mine blast in 2006 but continued to follow his passion for athletics. Two other Indian throwers, Hokato Hotozhe Sema and Shubham Juyal, finished sixth and seventh with throws of 14.35 metres and 13.72 metres respectively. Iran’s Yasin Khosravi continued his dominance by winning gold with a world record throw of 16.60 metres. Impressively, all of his six throws went beyond 15 metres, and his last attempt amazed the crowd.