Rinku Hooda Clinches India’s Second Gold at World Para Athletics Championships.
Rinku Hooda outshone world record holder compatriot Sundar Singh Gurjar as India achieved a 1-2 finish in the men’s javelin throw F46 event on the third day of the World Para Athletics Championships on Monday. Rinku claimed his maiden World Championships title with a throw of 66.37m, while Gurjar took silver with 64.76m. Another Indian, Ajeet Singh, finished fourth with 61.77m, and Cuba’s Guillermo Varona Gonzalez earned bronze with 63.34m.
The F46 classification is for athletes with arm deficiencies, impaired muscle power, or limited range of movement in the arms, with competitors participating in a standing position. Following Rinku and Gurjar’s one-two finish, India’s medal tally rose to two gold, two silver, and one bronze, moving the country to sixth in the overall standings, behind China, Brazil, Poland, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
“This is my first competition in India. I had a good feeling on the ground. Today was my day, so everything was in my favour. What I did was a new experience for me,” Rinku said after his victory.
Born to a farming family in Dhamar village near Rohtak, Haryana, Rinku lost his left arm in a paddy-sowing machine accident at the age of three. He has previously won bronze at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, and silver at both the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships and the 2023 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou.
Earlier on Monday, Neutral Paralympic Athlete Denis Gnezdilov set a new world record in the men’s shot put F40, throwing 11.92m on his final attempt to win gold. Portuguese Paralympic champion Miguel Monteiro took silver with 11.31m, and Iraq’s Garrah Tnaiash claimed bronze with 10.86m. Gnezdilov, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion, secured his third World Championship title in the event for short-stature athletes.
Two other championship records were also broken on Monday morning: Poland’s Bartosz Gorczak set a mark of 8.67m in the men’s shot put F53, and Mexico’s Osiris Aneth Machado threw 44.36m to win the women’s discus F44. Poland also won gold in the women’s discus F64 through Faustyna Kotlowska.
Other Indian athletes narrowly missed podium finishes. Dayawanti finished fourth in the women’s discus F64 with 27.94m, setting a new Asian record but falling 1.51m short of bronze. Ayush Verma was fifth in the men’s shot put F55 with 7.23m, while seasoned campaigner Rongali Ravi registered a season-best 10.10m in the men’s shot put F40, missing a medal by 76cm.
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