Paris [France], September 5 (ANI): Paris Paralympics gold medallist Dharambir won hearts after he dedicated his medal to his compatriot and coach Amit Kumar Saroha.
When the stakes were high, it was Dharambir who upped the ante in the men’s club throw F51 final. He broke the Asian Record and set 34.92m as the new benchmark to take away the gold.
There was also a third Indian in the fray, Amit Kumar Saroha, but he was well short of a podium finish with his best attempt of 23.96m.
A day after tasting the gold medal success, Dharambir dedicated his gold medal in club throw to him, his teammate, and coach Amit.
“This is the best way to thank him. If he wasn’t there, then this game wouldn’t be present in India,” he told ANI.
Amit, who was present alongside Dharambir, didn’t feel that he had missed out on a medal and said, “I have such a long career, I have won medals at every event, but this is the podium where I hadn’t won a medal. I am not missing that today, as we won two medals and our national anthem was played. I cannot get a better gift than this,” Amit told ANI.
His compatriot Pranav Soorma was close to Dharambir but ended up being too far. He settled for the silver medal with a throw of 34.59m.
For Pranav, it was a proud moment that India finished the event with two medals and said, “It is a proud moment, and it felt good that we won two medals in an event in which the country has won no medal in the past… When India’s national anthem was played, it was out of the world feeling.”
Apart from Dharambir and Pranav’s successful run at the Paris Paralympics, India has enjoyed a flurry of medals in para-athletics
In the men’s shot put F46 event, Sachin Sarjerao Khilari stood tall at the podium with the silver medal around his neck.
Sachin secured the second spot with a 16.32m throw, which is also the area best (AB). However, the Indian athlete was unlucky to miss the top spot after falling short of gold by the barest of margins. It was a distance of 0.6m that separated Sachin from the gold medal.
Even after missing out on the gold, Sachin was delighted to finish his campaign at the podium and said, “I am happy that I finished on the podium. The way I started. I have read about Devendra Jhajharia, he is there in para games, and that inspired me. I am happy that I won a medal, but since what I was throwing in the practice sessions, even if I had thrown that much today, the colour of my medal would have changed. But, I’ll change the colour in days to come.”
Sachin Sarjerao Khilari’s coach, N Satyanarayana, added, “Any player of the country won a medal, it’s an award for me. I have said that we will get more than 25 medals, and today, we will cross that. To win a medal, you need the support of media, teachers, corporates, parents and government.”
The Indian contingent has added 25 medals to its constantly growing tally and will have an opportunity to further extend its record medal haul in a single edition of the Paralympics.
India’s medal tally includes five gold, nine silver, and 11 bronze. In the medal tally list, India currently stands in the 14th position.
In the Tokyo edition (August 24 – September 5, 2021), India recorded its best-ever medal haul with a tally of 19, including five gold, eight silver, and six bronze. But in the Paris Paralympics, India rewrote history and will look to add more to the record-extending tally. (ANI)
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