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Para Sports

Para athletes open season at Tunis GP; eye APG and Worlds qualification

Discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya will lead an 11-member Indian team.

Para athletes open season at Tunis GP; eye APG and Worlds qualification
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Yogesh Kathuniya (Source: PCI)

By

Press Release

Published: 6 Feb 2023 11:54 AM GMT

Indian Para-athletes including Paralympic silver medallist discus thrower Yogesh Kathunia will open the 2023 season with the Tunis World Para Athletics Grand Prix that kicks off at the Rades Athletics Stadium.

Kathunia will lead an 11-member Indian team that also has Paralympian Simran and Asian Para Games medallist Rinku Hooda. Devendra Gehlot, who took part at the Birmingham 2022 CWG, is also part of the visiting team.

"The Tunis GP is the first of the several Grand Prix events lined up in the year. And the main target for our players at these competitions is to attain the MQS towards qualification for the World Championships in Paris (in July) and Asian Para Games in Hangzhou later this year. There are also some players who would aim for their classifications," said Para athletics coach Lakhwinder Singh, who is travelling with the team.

Kathunia, who has been recovering from a lower back muscle spasm suffered two weeks back, is also aiming for the same adding that he had a good training at Panchkula.

"Training has been okay so far. I have been focusing on my rehab, multi gym training and my throw. This year the target has been the Asian Para Games and World Championships and I will be aiming for the Paris 2024 Paralympic quota at the Worlds this July," Kathunia, who would compete in men's discus throw F56 event, told the Paralympic Committee of India.

Around 300 athletes from 25 countries are taking part in the Tunis GP.

Among the top names, host Tunisia which took four gold medals at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will have their Paralympic stars Walid Ktila (men's T34 wheelchair racing) and Raoua Tlili (women's F41 thrower) in their ranks.

Malaysia's top Para-athletes including Abdul Latif Romli (men's long jump T20), Mohamad Puzi (men's 100m T36) and Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli (men's shot put F20) are also in Tunisia.

African neighbours Algeria, Morocco and Kenya will be among the other nations expected to make a mark at the event.


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