Three more gold for India at Asian Para Games

JAKARTA: India bagged three more gold with two coming from athletics in a rich haul of 11 medals to maintain its eighth spot on the third day of competitions at the Para Asian Games here Tuesday.

Ekta Bhyan and Narayan Thakur clinched a gold each in women’s F32/51 club throw event and men’s T35 100m dash respectively before para-shooter Manish Narwal bagged the yellow metal in the men’s SH1 10m air pistol event.

All the Indian medals on Tuesday except for the shooting gold came from para-athletics.

Bhyan produced her best throw in her fourth attempt, 16.02m, winning the F32/51 event ahead of UAE’S Alkaabi Thekra, who threw 15.75m. Bhyan had come into the competition on the back of a gold winning performance at the Indian Open Para Athletics Championship earlier this year.

The F32/51 class features athletes with significant impairment in hand function.

Para-athletics continued to give gold for India as Thakur won the T35 100m final race in 14.02 seconds, ahead of Adawi Ahmed of Saudi Arabia (14.40) and Yiu Chui Bao of Hong Kong (14.62). This was India’s fourth gold from para-athletics.

Athletes in T35 class have coordination impairments (hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis).

Youngster Thakur, who turns 17 on October 17, then gave India its third gold of the day. His category features athletes with upper and/or lower limb impairment for competition in pistol events.

India also secured three silver medals through Surender Aneesh Kumar (men’s F43/44,F62/64 discus), Ram Pal (men’s T45/46/47 high jump), Virender (men’s F56/57 shot put).

The five bronze medal winners on Tuesday are Monu Ghangas, Jayanti Behera, Anandan Gunasekaran, Sundar Singh Gurjar and Pradeep — all from para-athletics.

Ghangas finished third in the men’s shot put F11, which covers vision impairment, and Gunasekaran in men’s 200m T44/62/64 class, which deals with impairment in foot, ankle and/or lower leg but the athletes compete without prothesis. Behera bagged bronze in the women’s 200m T45/46/47 event, which is for athletes with limb impairment.