Fri. Mar 29th, 2024
Sundar Singh Gurjar

On the first day of IPC Para Athletics Championships 2017 in London, Sundar Singh Gurjar won a gold medal in the javelin throw competition. Though Indian side missed the presence of Paralympic gold medallist Devendra Jhajharia, Sundar who was disqualified from his event in Rio 2016 due to technical reasons, did not let the country down. He set the record and won the gold medal with his best throw of 60.36 metres.

After the event, Sundar told how he felt after Rio and how he trained for World Championships. “I was very disappointed after Rio, as I had prepared intensely and ultimately, could not compete. My morale was completely broken then, but I am delighted with this comeback to competition. I had trained hard for the World Championships as well, but not as much as I had done for Rio,” Sundar said.

He further added, “Hence, this gold medal is great motivation for me to perform even better from here on. I have recovered fully and will do even better at the Asian Games (next year). I am a little bit disappointed at not being able to break the World Record, but am still satisfied that I got the medal.”

However, India just missed the bronze medal as the 18-year-old young athlete Rinku finished fourth. Though he narrowly missed from getting a medal with a throw of 55.12 m, he was pleased with his performance and is now aiming for junior world championships.

“I am very happy with this performance and with the fact that I am improving my personal bests. Missing the medal was my fate, but the Junior World Championships are coming up later this month, and I will try my best to break the world record there,” Rinku said after the event.

By Naman