Indian discus thrower Vinod Kumar lost his F52 category bronze medal at the Paralympics here on Monday after being found ineligible in the disability classification assessment by the competition panel.
He had earlier won it on Sunday with an Asian record throw of 19.91m. However, his result has been challenged by some other contestants who objected to Vinod's classification in the F52 category.
"...the panel was unable to allot NPC India athlete Vinod Kumar with a sports category and designated the athlete as Classification Not Complete (CNC)," the organizers said in a statement.
"The athlete is therefore ineligible for the men's F52 discus medal event and has nil results in that competition," it added.
F52 is intended for athletes with impaired muscle strength, restricted range of movement, limb deficiency or leg length difference, including athletes with cervical cord injury, spinal cord injury, amputation and functional impairment in a sitting position compete.
Para-athletes are classified on the basis of the type and extent of their disability. The classification system allows athletes to compete against people of similar level of ability.
Vinod's classification was done on 22nd August.
Poland's Piotr Kosewicz won the gold with a throw of 20.02m while Velimir Sandor of Croatia won the silver with a throw of 19.98m. In intense competition the great Agar Apinis, the current Paralympic record holder, was fourth, but would be upgraded to bronze.
Seven months after joining the Border Security Force - Vinod Kumar's limbs were paralyzed in an accident after falling from a cliff in Leh, leaving him bedridden for nearly a decade. After the incident, he had to use a wheelchair and ran a grocery shop in his hometown of Rohtak in Haryana. The store was frequented by archery coaches from the nearby stadium, who suggested that he give Para Sport a shot.
Vinod went on to take the discus throw and win his first international medal, a bronze, at the 2019 World Para Athletics Grand Prix. Vinod won his Paralympic quota two months later at the Dubai World Championships. It was a tournament he almost missed. He had trouble with his travel documents and eventually managed to reach Dubai a few hours before his competition. He still finished fourth with an effort of 19.29m and that was enough for a Tokyo berth.
Both Bhavnaben Patel and Nishad Kumar had earlier on Sunday won a silver each in the women's singles table tennis category 4 and men's T47 high jump events respectively.