New Delhi: Indian duo of Dharambir Nain and Pranav Soorma weren’t at their best in the men’s F51 club throw competition while World Championships debutant Atul Kaushik won a surprise bronze in F57 discus final as India ended a rain-hit, middling day with two medals here on Thursday.
F51 classification involves athletes with impairment to their trunk, legs, and hands while F57 athletes are afflicted with lower limb impairments.
Much was expected of Dharambir and Pranav a year after they did an Indian 1-2 at the Paris Paralympics, but the duo flattered to deceive on home turf. Dharambir, with a season’s best of 30.37m and a personal best of 34.92m, could muster a best of 29.71m for a second-place finish while Pranav’s season’s best of 28.19m was good enough only for a fifth place.
Dharambir led the field briefly before Serbia’s Aleksander Radisic threw 30.36m -- the only 30m throw of the competition -- to upstage him. Later, Belarusian Uladzislau Hryb threw 28.70m to push Pranav out of the medal bracket and take third place.
The club throw competition was interrupted by a brief spell of rain and resumed after a 45-minute hiatus.
{{/usCountry}}The club throw competition was interrupted by a brief spell of rain and resumed after a 45-minute hiatus.
{{/usCountry}}“Rain definitely played a part. The ground was wet which meant we had trouble gripping. The glue wasn’t sticking properly. I am happy to win a medal but it would have been great to have Paranav on the podium as well,” said Dharambir.
The weight distribution of clubs has undergone a change recently with the mass being shifted from the head to its metal base, making it harder to throw farther. The ongoing Worlds is the first event with the rejigged clubs.
“Besides the wet conditions, redistribution of mass in clubs is one of the reasons for most athletes throwing less than 30m. That’s why it is important to start well,” said Daharambir’s coach Amit Saroha. Dharambir took second spot on his first legal throw before confirming it with a 29.71m throw on the last try.
Meanwhile, in the men’s discus F57 final, Kaushik’s fifth attempt of 45.61m fetched him a bronze medal while Priyans Kumar, despite a personal best of 42.52m, could only end eighth among ten competitors. Libya’s Mahmoud Rajab won gold with a Championship Record of 46.73m and Brazil’s Thiago Paulini Dos Santos was next with 45.69m.
“I took up para sports after watching Deepa Malik and Mariyappan Thangavelu on the Kapil Sharma show after the Rio Olympics. I am happy to win a medal on my Worlds debut,” Kaushik, a gold medallist at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix held here in March, said.
Meanwhile, India is likely to host its first wheelchair marathon as well as its first Para Asian Championships next year, chief coach Satyapal Singh said. A window has been sought from the International Paralympics Committee and the wheelchair event will be held either in March or in November-December.
“We are hosting the Para Grand Prix in March anyway and to have the wheelchair marathon on Kartavya Path will be ideal. Winter months have the challenges of fog and pollution,” Singh said.