By Megha Mallick,News18

Copyright news18

India’s Yogesh Kathuniya won another silver medal in the men’s F56 discus throw event at the World Para Athletics Championships on Tuesday, continuing his pursuit of a maiden gold at the global level.
The 28-year-old Kathuniya achieved a throw of 42.49m on his second attempt to secure the silver. He has won medals at all four world championships since 2019.
This was his third consecutive silver in the World Championships, adding to the two silver medals from the 2023 and 2024 editions, and the two silver medals from the Paralympic Games (2021 and 2024). He also won a bronze in the 2019 edition and a silver at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Para Games.
Brazilian world record holder Claudiney Batista won gold with a throw of 45.67m. Each of Batista’s six throws surpassed Kathuniya’s best effort of the day. This was Batista’s fourth consecutive gold in the world championships since 2019, and 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 for athletes who compete in field events from a seated position, including those with amputations and spinal cord injuries.
“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.
Previously, he had expressed his frustration at consistently finishing second 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 age of nine, Kathuniya was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré 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 walking again, thanks to his mother, Meena Devi, who learnt physiotherapy to treat her son.
Kathuniya hails from Bahadurgarh in Jhajjar district in Haryana. His father, an Indian Army soldier, studied at the Indian Army Public School in Chandigarh and completed a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Kirori Mal College in New Delhi.
Kathuniya said that 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 by at least 3-4 metres,” he said.
In seated throw events, athletes have 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 progressed in India.
“Not long ago, there was not much in terms of financial assistance and 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 a win with a world record in the men’s 100m T44 final, clocking 10.94 seconds.
David Dzhatiev, a Neutral Para Athlete, in the men’s 200m T35, David Jose Pineda Mejia of Spain in the men’s 400m T20, and Tunisia’s Yassine Gharbi in the men’s 400m T54 accounted for 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 the Paralympic Games and two World Championships after 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.