Nagoya, Oct 19 India’s para track and field athletes scooped six medals, including three gold, in a top-notch performance with long jumper Nishad Kumar, javelin thrower Rinku and visually impaired middle distance runner Soumya winning their respective events in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games here on Monday.
The Indians won three gold, two silver and one bronze, second only to hosts Japan who won eight medals (3 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze) on the opening day of athletics competitions at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.
Nishad opened India’s athletics gold account, topping the men’s long jump T47 event with a dominating performance.
The 27-year-old, who had won a gold in the high jump T47 event in the previous Asian Para Games in China, produced an effort of 7.11m in both his third and fifth attempts to win the gold on the opening day of para-athletics competition.
Remarkably, it was his first competitive outing in long jump.
The two-time Paralympic silver-medallist will also compete in his pet event, high jump T47, in the ongoing Games.
Omadbek Khasanov of Uzbekistan and Mohammadu Safran of Sri Lanka took the silver and bronze with efforts of 6.99m and 6.55m respectively.
T47 classification is for athletes with upper limb impairments.
Nishad’s right arm was severed by a grass-cutting machine at his family farm in Himachal Pradesh’s Amb when he was merely six.
Soumya clinched a gold medal in the women’s 1500m T12/T13 event in her debut Asian Para Games while compatriot Radha Venkatesh clinched a silver in the same event.
Soumya clocked 5 minutes and 12.39 seconds to win the gold while Radha ran 5:30.90 to take the silver in a 1-2 finish for India.
Soumya, who had won gold in the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in New Delhi earlier in the year, ran with her guide Kumar Bharath while Radha was guided by Govind Solanki as the T12/T13 event is meant for athletes with visual impairment.
Mana Sasaki of Japan was third with a time of 5 minutes 12.15 seconds, which was better than those of both Soumya and Radha. But the final standings were decided on the basis of a combined T12/T13 points system, under which Sasaki ended at third behind Soumya and Radha.
Two events with near identical classification criteria can be clubbed into one if there are not enough competitors in a single event.
T11 to T13 events are for athletes with visual impairment. T11 is for athletes with total or near-total blindness while T13 is the least severe visual impairment. T12 athletes have visual impairment in between the two.
In the most severe category of T11 for the visually impaired, India’s Ravanni Valasanaini ended with a bronze after the original third-place finisher Rakshitha Raju was disqualified for a technical violation that covers non-compliance in relation to clothing, shoes, and bibs.
India’s third para athletics gold of the day came from Rinku in the men’s javelin F46 event, leading a one-two finish for the country as compatriot Ajeet Singh settled for a silver.
Rinku produced a throw of 65.11m to take the gold, edging Ajeet by just nine centimeters. Ajeet managed 65.02m to secure the silver.
Indonesia’s R Saktyono, the only other competitor in the three-man field, took the bronze with a throw of 55.30m.
The F46 classification is for athletes with a single above or below elbow amputation, or an equivalent impairment.
(PTI News)
