India enjoyed a remarkable double podium finish in athletics at the Paris Paralympics, with Ajeet Singh and Sundar Singh Gurjar winning silver and bronze in the men’s javelin throw F46 event at the Stade de France.
As Ajeet and Sundar celebrated their achievements, another impressive result unfolded elsewhere in the stadium. Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu also clinched silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the men’s high jump T6 final.
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In a dramatic final effort, Ajeet clinched silver with a personal best throw of 65.62m. His teammate Sundar, repeating his performance from the Tokyo Paralympics, secured bronze in Paris with a season-best throw of 64.96m. Guillermo from Cuba took gold with an impressive throw of 66.14m.
Ajeet, Rinku, and Sundar began their competition with throws of 59.80m, 57.34m, and 62.92m, respectively. In his second attempt, Ajeet moved into third place with a throw of 60.53m.
Sundar, positioned behind Guillermo, continued to perform strongly, recording 63.63m on his first attempt and 66.14m on his second. In the third attempt, Rinku fell to fourth place with a throw of 60.58m, while Ajeet and Sundar maintained their positions.
On the fourth attempt, Sundar improved his best throw of the final to 64.96m, but even with this effort, he couldn’t surpass Guillermo’s leading throw of 66.14m.
In the fifth attempt, Ajeet secured a spot on the podium with a remarkable throw of 65.62m, moving ahead of Sundar to claim the silver medal with his personal best.
Rinku, the third Indian competitor, finished in fifth place with his best throw measuring 61.58m.
In the men’s high jump T6 final, Sharad Kumar won the silver medal with a jump of 1.88m. His fellow athlete, Mariyappan Thangavelu, earned the bronze with a leap of 1.85m. The gold medal was claimed by America’s Ezra Frech, who set a new Paralympic Record with a stunning jump of 1.94m.