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New Delhi, Sep 30 (PTI) India’s Yogesh Kathuniya won yet another silver medal in the men’s F56 discus throw event at the World Para Athletics Championships here on Tuesday, as his quest for a maiden gold at the global level continued.
The 28-year-old Kathuniya sent the disc to 42.49m in his second attempt to win the silver. He has been winning a medal in all the four world championships since 2019.
He picked up his third successive silver in the World Championships — the other two being in 2023 and 2024 editions — in addition to the two silver medals in the Paralympic Games (2021 and 2024). He had also won a bronze in the 2019 edition. In the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Para Games also, he won a silver.
World record holder Brazilian ace Claudiney Batista won the gold with a throw of 45.67m. Each of his six throws were better than that of Kathuniya’s best effort of the day. This was Batista’s fourth successive gold in the world championships starting from the 2019 edition. He has also won gold in the last three Paralympic Games.
Kathuniya has not been able to beat the Brazilian in four world championships and two Paralympic Games.
The F56 category is meant for athletes who compete in field events from a seated position. Different athletes, including those with amputations and spinal cord injuries compete in this class.
“It is a different feeling since I won a silver on my home ground. My family members are here, very happy to have performed in front of my family. They have always been very supportive, so it’s special,” Kathuniya said.
In the past, he had expressed his frustration at finishing second all the time at the global level.
“For the last six-seven years, silver has stuck to me, but it has not gone down from that (colour of medal). But, it’s alright, my time (for gold) will come,” he said.
“I have stopped saying I am going to win gold, there was no pressure on me. I really enjoyed my outing,” he said.
At the tender age of nine, Kathuniya was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder. Doctors told him that he wouldn’t walk again and soon he was confined to a wheelchair.
But within three years, he started to walk again, thanks to his mother, Meena Devi, who learnt physiotherapy to treat her son.
He hails from Bahadurgarh in Jhajjar district in Haryana. His father being an Indian Army soldier, he studied at the Indian Army Public School in Chandigarh and finished a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Kirori Mal College in New Delhi.
Kathuniya said he could have done better if not for some strict belt tightening.
“Officials were a bit strict. The belt was tightened a bit too much which hampers movement and always brings down the distance at least 3-4 metres,” he said.
In seated throw events, athletes have to make six throws in six minutes while sitting on custom-made throwing frames, which are secured to the ground by straps.
Athletes use straps to secure themselves to the frame, as any movement below the navel can attract different kinds of fouls from the judges.
Kathuniya spoke about how para sports and para-athletes have come a long way in India.
“Not long ago there was not much going on in the way of financial assistance and future prospects. All that has changed. Sponsors are easy to find to support the athlete.
“The future is really great. But more than that, para-athletes need empathy and not sympathy and I am happy to say it’s all changing,” he said.
World record in men’s 100m T44 ==================== Saudi Arabia’s Naif Almasrahi breezed to victory with a world record in the men’s 100m T44 final. He clocked 10.94 seconds.
David Dzhatiev, a Neutral Para Athlete, in the men’s 200m T35, Davd Jose Pineda Mejia of Spain in the men’s 400m T20 and Tunisia’s Yassine Gharbi in the men’s 400m T54 accounted for the other three other Championships Records set on Tuesday morning.
“I wasn’t prepared to get this time. In my mind, I was preparing to get to 11 (seconds), but my competitor was running so fast, I had to run faster,” Almasrahi said.
“It’s hot, but it’s similar to where I live in Saudi Arabia. And also, the track is one of the best I have run on.” Gharbi returned to the global podium after nearly six years. He missed a Paralympic Games and two World Championships in the wake of a ban for testing positive for Boldenone in an out-of-competition test in December 2020. He went without a medal in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. PTI PDS AM PDS AM AM