Kathuniya wins second consecutive Paralympic silver in men's discus throw
The 27-year-old hurled the discus to the podium-clinching distance in his very first attempt to add to the silver he won in the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago.
PTI
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Yogesh Kathuniya, discus thrower, poses for photos after winning the silver medal in F56 category at Paris Paralympics. PHOTO:PTI
Paris, 2 Sep
India's Yogesh Kathuniya clinched his second consecutive
Paralympic silver medal in men's discus throw F-56 event with a season's best
effort 42.22m at the ongoing Games here on Monday.
The 27-year-old hurled the discus to the podium-clinching
distance in his very first attempt to add to the silver he won in the Tokyo
Paralympics three years ago.
Brazil's Claudiney Batista dos Santos registered a hat-trick
of Paralympic gold medals, creating a new Games record with an effort of 46.86m
in his fifth attempt.
Greece's Konstantinos Tzounis won the bronze with 41.32m.
The F-56 classification covers limb deficiency, leg length
difference, impaired muscle power and impaired range of movement.
At the age of 9, Kathuniya developed the Guillain-Barre
syndrome, a rare autoimmune condition which causes numbness, tingling and
muscle weakness that can progress to paralysis.
He was bound to the wheelchair during his childhood but
overcame the odds with the help of his mother Meena Devi, who learnt
physiotherapy to help him regain muscle strength to walk again. His father has
served in the Indian Army.
Kathuniya is a commerce graduate from Delhi's prestigious
Kirori Mal College.
Besides two Paralympic silver medals, he has three world
championship medals, including two silver and a bronze.
On Monday, Kathuniya won't be satisfied with his performance
given that he won the silver in Tokyo with a much better effort of 44.38m.
Kathuniya's toughest competitor, the 45-year-old Dos Santos
broke the Paralympic record twice on Monday, first registering 46.45m in his
second attempt and then hurling the discus to 46.86m in his penultimate throw.
Dos Santos is a three-time world championships
gold-medallist, and has also held the Paralympic record of 45.59m in this
category which he achieved in the last edition in Tokyo.
Slovakia's Dusan Laczko finished fourth and last with a best
effort of 41.20m. -PTI
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