Para Sports
Desai, Padhiyar win gold as India sign off with 14 medals from Dubai Para Athletics
Along with securing several medals, the team also bagged a few Asian records to their name prior to the upcoming Asian Para Games
Sprinter Pranav Prashant Desai and high jumper Ramsingbhai Govin Padhiyar clinched a gold each on the final day as India signed off with 14 medals from the 13th Fazza International Para Athletics Championships here on Friday. India claimed five gold medals, six silver and three bronze to secure the eighth spot. Colombia finished on top with 25 medals, including 12 gold, followed by Algeria (16) and Thailand (30).
After his 200m T64 gold on the second day, Desai claimed the top spot in 100m men T63/64 final racing in 11.74s to finish ahead of the Thailand duo of Denpoom Kotcharang (12.12s) and Kantinan Khumphong (13.57s) at the Dubai Club for People of Determination grounds. "It was a perfect week for me. Both my races were over my expectations. I hope to continue the momentum and take gold medals in Asian Para Games in both the events," Desai said.
Later, Padhiyar and Shailesh Kumar produced a leap of 1.84m each but the former was awarded gold in the men's high jump T42 final. Thailand's Angkarn Chanaboon took the bronze in the T47 category with a jump of 1.90m. In the shot put F42/46 final, Asian Para Games medallist Mohammed Yasser settled for a silver after confusion arose with the weight of his shot put. He was thus forced to play with someone else's equipment, managing 14.73m in his fourth throw. Kuwait's Faisal Sorour threw a distance of 15,23m to take the gold, while Kazakhstan's Ravil Mansurbayev (14.44m) won the bronze.
In women's events, Jayanti Behera ran the 100m final T46/47 in 13.16s to take the bronze, behind USA's Brittni Mason (12.43s) and Tereza Jakschova of Czech Republic (13.04s). India coach Manju Nath was happy with his wards' show. "The team did well. We secured several medals and Asian records. Now the team will be focusing on the upcoming Asian Para Games." Overall, the championships saw four world records and 20 continental records.