India's medal hunt at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 continued on Monday with Yogesh Kathuniya winning the silver medal in men's discus throw F56 with a best throw of 44.38m event at the National Stadium in Tokyo. (More Sports News)
Yogesh Kathuniya produced his season's best throw in the final attempt with an effort of 44.38m to settle for the silver medal
India's medal hunt at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 continued on Monday with Yogesh Kathuniya winning the silver medal in men's discus throw F56 with a best throw of 44.38m event at the National Stadium in Tokyo. (More Sports News)
Kathuniya, started the final with a foul throw, then produced 42.84m. It was followed by a couple of more foul throws, then improved to 43.55 and 44.38, which is also his season's best throw.
The 24-year-old, a B.Com graduate from New Delhi's Kirorimal College, is a son of an Army man. He suffered a paralytic attack at the age of eight which left him with coordination impairments in his limbs.
Brazil's world record holder (46.68) and defending champion (45.33 in Rio) Claudiney Batista dos Santos produced a best throw of 45.59 in his last attempt to set a new Paralympic record and win gold.
In the field of eight para-athletes, Leonardo Diaz Aldana of Cuba finished third with a best throw of 43.36.
Iran's Ali Mohammad Yari holds the Asian record (45.49).
Bhavinaben Patel clinched a historic silver in table tennis to give India its first medal in Paralympics before high jumper Nishad Kumar also came second on Sunday.
But the celebrations of a Super Sunday were somewhat muted after discus thrower Vinod Kumar's bronze-winning result (F52) was put on hold due to a protest over his disability classification.
Para-athletes are given a classification depending on the type and extent of their disability. The classification system allows athletes to compete against others with a similar level of ability.
In para-athletics, participants are classified with prefix 'T' (for track, marathon race or jumping event) or 'F' (for field event) with a number.
T/F51, T/F52, T/F53, T/F54, T/F55, T/F56 and T/F57 are for athletes with impaired muscle power, restricted range of movement, limb deficiency or leg length difference, with athletes competing in seated position e.g. with cervical cord injury, spinal cord injury, amputation, functional disorder.
Seated Throws: F51-57
F52 - Athletes usually have good shoulder muscles and mildly weak to full elbow and wrist muscles which are required for throwing an implement. Finger flexor and extensor muscles are non-functional making grip of the implement difficult. The non-throwing hand usually requires strapping to the throwing frame.
F56 - Athletes have full arm and trunk muscle power. Pelvic stability is provided by some to full ability to press the knees together. Hip abductor and hip extensor muscles are typically absent. Equivalent activity limitations are seen in athletes with bilateral high above knee amputations. Athletes with some but non-functional muscle power in the lower limbs will also fit in this class.