Devendra Jhajharia became the second Indian after Joginder Singh Bedi to win three medals at the Paralympics as he won a silver in the men's F46 javelin throw event with a personal best effort of 64.35m. Two-time world champion Sundar Singh Gurjar won the bronze medal with a throw of 64.01m. Sri Lanka's Dinesh Herath broke Jhajharia's world record with a throw of 67.79m. Ajit Singh Yadav, the second Indian to win a bronze medal at the last World Championships, finished eighth with a throw of 56.15m.
Earlier, Yogesh Kathunia improved his attempt to win bronze from the previous World Championships to win silver in the men's F56 discus throw event with a throw of 44.38m. He finished behind Claudini Batista dos Santos of Brazil, who set a new Paralympic record with a throw of 45.59m. Cuba's Leonardo Diaz won the bronze medal with a best throw of 43.36m.
Indian athletes have now won seven medals at these Games, including one gold, four silver and two bronze, which is easily their best effort at the Paralympics. Her previous best was four medals at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, when she won two gold, one silver and one bronze.
Easily one of the greatest athletes India has ever produced, Jhajharia is a former world champion and was also the current world record holder to enter the Paralympics. He is also the only Indian in history to win two gold medals in Paralympics. Jhajharia's three medals are also the highest ever in the men's F46 javelin throw event. Herath is in second place with Jorge Shidek and Dai Chen Wang, all of whom have two medals in this classification.
Jhajharia dedicated the medal to his father, who died of cancer last year. "Of course, this medal belongs to the people of the country, but I also want to dedicate it to my late father, who wanted me to win another medal in Paralympics," Jhajharia told PTI from Tokyo.
"I would not be here if it was not for my father's efforts. It was he who inspired me to work harder and win another medal. I am glad that today I have fulfilled his dream."
At 40, he continues to be in fine form after breaking a world record in the selection trials earlier this year.
When he was eight years old, Jhajharia's left hand had to be amputated till the elbow after accidentally touching a 11,000 volt live cable. What gives Jhajharia's achievements even more credit is the fact that both his previous gold medals at the Paralympics came after breaking the existing world record.
Jhajharia improved his world record this time too but Herath threw ahead of him to win the gold.
Kathunia's sporting ambitions were nearly shattered after she suffered a paralytic attack at the age of 8, which left her with impaired limb coordination. However, this did not deter him from his sporting passion and he developed an interest in both discus and javelin events. Last year, competing in her first international event, Kathuniya set a new world record of 45.18m to win gold at the Para-Athletics Grand Prix in Berlin.
"It was amazing. Winning silver has given me more motivation to take the gold medal in Paris 2024," Kathunia said in the mixed field.
Kathunia said she had to train without a coach before the Games.
"The preparation has been very tough in the last 18 months. There was a six-month lockdown in India so every stadium was closed. When I could return to the stadium on a daily basis, I had to practice on my own. I couldn't have one. There is a coach and I am still training without a coach. It was a great moment that I could have won a silver medal without a coach."
After trying his best of the season in Tokyo, Kathuniya said he would like to break the world record in Paris in 2024.
"I'm going to work hard. I was just a meter away from the gold medal here, but in Paris I'd like to break the world record. Today wasn't my day because I was all set to break the world record here, but that There was a barrier I couldn't break."
Gujjar competed in the general category before losing his left palm in a domestic accident in 2015. He then began competing in the Para Sports F46 category – which included athletes with arm numbness, impaired muscle strength or passive range of motion in the arms. Compete in a standing position.
In 2016, Gurjar made the 'A' qualification mark for the Rio Paralympics with a throw of 59.36m at the annual FAZZA IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai. With a national record throw of 68.42m at the Para Athletics National Championships, he was the favorite in Rio. However, it all went wrong in their first games, when Gurjar, failing to understand the announcer's pronunciation, arrived 52 seconds late for the start of the javelin throw event and was disqualified.
The incident took its toll on Gurjar, who said he had entered a period of depression during which he no longer wanted to train and was even contemplating quitting the sport altogether. It was the encouragement of his coach Mahavir Saini that helped him regain the desire to compete.
Gurjar made a strong comeback. In the 2017 season opener in Dubai, he won gold medals in all three of his events - javelin throw, discus throw and shot put. He won the men's javelin throw F46 gold medal at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in London.
In the 2018 Asian Para Games, Gurjar won silver in javelin throw and bronze in discus throw. In 2019, he won his second world gold in the javelin, cementing his place at the Tokyo Paralympics.