India Seal 2 More Tokyo Paralympics Slots As Kathuniya Gets Discus Bronze

Indian para-discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya managed to cling onto the bronze medal even after committing fouls in the first three attempts in men’s discus throw F56 final at the Dubai 2019 World Para Athletics Championships.

Yogesh, with his stellar performance, also booked a Tokyo Paralympics 2020 qualification spot. The Indian contingent’s joy doubled when the high jumper Parveen Kumar also joined Kathuniya as he booked the second Tokyo Paralympics quota berth for India on the same day.

Kathuniya, who was representing the country for the first time in the event, chucked the discus to a distance of 42.51 meters in his final attempt.

Even after committing fouls, Kathuniya was seated at the second spot for most parts of the game, behind Brazil’s Claudiney Batista dos Santos.

However, it was the Iranian Ali Mohammad Yari who overtook the Indian in his concluding attempt with a throw of 43.51 meters to take the second spot on the podium.

Brazil’s Claudiney Batista dos Santos took the top spot as he hurled the discus to a distance of 45.92 m.

Later in the day, Praveen Kumar finished fourth in the men’s high jump T64 final with his personal best performance as he cleared the bar at 1.92 meters.

Soon after booking the slot for the quadrennial event in Tokyo, Kathuniya said that he was not under any pressure even after conceding foul in the first three attempts.

He said that after he committed the fouls, he just made up his mind to keep his next three throws easy and it worked for him.

Kathuniya further added that this was his first major tournament and he is taking back a lot of learning from it. He also added that on his return to India he is going to work on his skills with his coach Naval Singh.

India have so far bagged two gold, one silver and two bronze medals from the World Para Athletics Championships.