On Day 9 of Paralympic Games as star Indian club thrower Amit Kumar Saroha, a gold medal victor at the 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon, came close to winning bronze at the men’s Club Throw F51 final. Saroha had also participated in the London Olympics, where he had finished 8th in the discus throw.
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The 31-year-old Haryana para-athlete was leading initially in the six-round competition with a best throw of 26.63m – which he came up in his second attempt – before eventually losing his way later to fall out of medal bracket and finish fourth. His countryman Milos Mitic bagged the silver with a throw of 26.84m while Slovakia’s Marian Kureja threw 26.82m to settle for the bronze medal.
Serbia’s Zeljko Dimitrijevic clinched the gold with a world record throw of 29.96m.
At the 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon, Saroha won two medals – a gold in club throw and a silver in discus throw.
A road accident at the age of 22 left him with severe spinal injuries, tragically making him a quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair.
Dharambir, who is paralysed below the waist, took up club throw in 2014 under the guidance of Saroha.
This is India’s best tally at the Paralympics.
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So, India have won two gold medals (Mariyappan Thangavelu – high jump, Devendra Jhajharia – javelin throw), one silver (Deepa Malik) and one bronze (Varun Singh Bhati – high jump). It was introduced at the 1960 Paralympics.
