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2019 World Para Athletics Championships: Sundar Singh Gurjar wins gold; India seal 3 quotas at 2020 Tokyo Paralympics
While Sundar Singh Gurjar won the gold, Ajeet Singh bagged bronze and Rinku Hooda finished fourth, thus confirming three Paralympic quotas for India.
Top Javelin thrower Sundar Singh Gurjar overcame a shoulder injury to claim the second gold for India with a season best performance at the Dubai 2019 World Para Athletics Championships here on Sunday.
In doing so, he not only defended his London Worlds 2017 title here but also became the only second Indian to have clinched two World Championships medals after Devendra Jhajharia’s gold and silver in 2013 Lyon and 2015 Doha Championships.
Staying in the second place till his fifth attempt, Gurjar hurled the javelin to a distance of 61.22 metres in his sixth attempt, enough to jump to the top of the results table tumbling Sri Lanka’s Dinesh P. Herath Mudiyanselage who led throughout with his 60.59 m throw in the first attempt.
It was infact a double delight for India as Ajeet Singh managed 59.46 m to settle for the bronze. Compatriot Rinku Hooda took the fourth place with a throw of 57.59 m.
The result meant that all three Indians in the top 4 sealed a quota each at next year's Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
Also read: Managing the medals: A peek into India’s Paralympic World
Sundar Singh Gurjar, who is from Rajasthan, had missed out on what seemed like a sure-shot gold medal at the Rio Paralympic Games. However, he made a solid comeback, winning three gold medals in three events — javelin, shot put and discus throw — at the 9th FAZZA IPC Athletics Grand Prix in 2017.
Then came Sundar's biggest success until today, as he won the gold medal at the 2017 IPC World Championship. Even at last year's Asian Para Games, he clinched the silver medal in javelin throw and bronze medal in discus throw. There is no doubt that he will be raring to go at the Paralympics and win a gold for India!
Previously, on the second day of this year's World Para Athletics Championships, India had sealed a one-two podium finish in Men's F64 Javelin. Sandeep Chaudhary and Sumit Antil stole the show as they not only took the gold and Silver, but also bettered their own World records in their categories en route booking their qualifying spots for India at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
Paralympic Committee of India Gursharan Singh congratulated the medallists and said: “Indian javelin throwers have always brought laurels to India. Today once again our players showed that they will be the ones to beat at Tokyo 2020. This also shows that we are in the right track.”
India now have two gold, one silver and a bronze from this Championships.
On Monday, six Indian players will be out in action including Ekta Bhyan and Kashish Lakra in women's Club Throw F51 final and Yogesh Kathuniya in Men's Discus Throw F56 Final.
