Athletics
Tokyo Olympics: Tajinder Pal Singh Toor finishes 13th in Men's Shot Put Heat Group A, crashes out
Tajinder Pal Singh Toor could only manage a best throw of 19.99m and missed out on qualifying for the Final
Tajinderpal Singh Toor will be among those headlining in this event. (Reuters)
India's Tajinderpal Singh Toor finished 13th in his heat of the Men's Shot Put at the Tokyo Olympics. He had been drawn in Group A and ended up recording a best distance of 19.99m on his very first attempt.
The 26-year-old from Moga was seeded alongside 15 other athletes in Group A of the Men's Shot Put Heat on Day 11 at the Tokyo Olympics.
Tajinderpal Singh Toor had found himself in elite company. Tomas Walsh of New Zealand, ranked second in the world, and Darlan Romani of Brazil, ranked third, were also in Group A and looking to hit the qualification mark of 21.20m. Ahead of the event, Tajinderpal Singh Toor held the National Record in India with a throw of 21.49. He had been constantly bettering his own national record since 2018 with the latest update to it arriving this season itself.
Tajinder began the Heat with a throw that was extremely close to the 20m mark. He got a 19.99 to get things started but failed to better it in his second attempt. Just before the second throw of the night, Tajinder was ranked sixth in the Heat and had his throw ruled out with the red flag in his second attempt.
Going into the third throw of the evening, Tajinder was ranked 12th in the standings of Group A. He needed a throw above at least 20.5 to put himself in a decent position to qualify for the final. But he was unable to do so and also recorded an invalid throw on his final attempt of the evening.
Brazil's Darlan Romani and Egypt's Amr Mostafa Hassan secured direct qualification with a throw of 21.31 and 21.23. One of the favourites for the podium, Tomas Walsh threw a monstrous 21.49 but the volunteer ruled that final attempt out with a red flag. Walsh had a long discussion with the officials, seeking clarity, and convinced, that he hadn't done anything wrong. With all the athletes leaving the arena, the officials finally ruled the decision in Walsh's favour and he leapt from eighth and in danger of missing out on the final, to topping Group A and qualifying for the final directly.
More updates to follow.
