Tokyo Paralympics: Why were all the throws of javelin thrower Ranjeet Bhati called foul?

The first out of the Indian javelin thrower in action at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics, Ranjeet Bhati, failed to register even a single valid throw during his six attempts.

The 24-year-old from Faridabad fouled in all his six attempts to end with No Mark (NM). Ranjeet was certainly crossing the 30m barrier easily, but the officials called all of his six attempts to be foul.

Why were all of Ranjeet's throws deemed to be foul?

As per the rules of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in all the seated throw events, the athletes while throwing need to be in contact with the surface of the seat they are sitting on from the back of the knee to the Ischial Tube i.e back of the buttock. This sitting position has to be maintained till the time the throw has landed.

The officials present at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo felt that Ranjeet's Ischial Tube was not in contact with the surface of the seat he was sitting on. The officials pointed this out repeatedly between the throws and had long conversations with Ranjeet, but the Indian could not really correct it. Hence, all the throws by Ranjeet Bhati at the Tokyo Paralympics were deemed to be foul.