Discus thrower wins silver at World Para Athletics in F56 Category
KOLKATA: Indian para athletes have been soaring higher on the world stage in recent years and the ongoing World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan, has been no exception. India have already added five medals to their account including a gold from Deepthi Jeevanji’s world record-setting 400m T20 run in 55.07 sec on Monday.
And the first silver for the country came soon after when
Yogesh Kathuniya
claimed the second spot in men’s F56 category discus throw with an effort of 41.80 m. But the
Tokyo Paralympics
silver medalist does not want the podium finish at Worlds to be his best of the season as he has set his sights on bigger dreams.
“I don’t want the Worlds to be the place where I peak this year,” the
Arjuna Award
recipient told TOI before leaving for the World Athletics Championships. “Of course, I want it to serve as the testing ground to know my weaknesses and where I would need to improve before the Paralympics.”
Yogesh, who broke the world record in F36 category with a 45.18 m throw at 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships in Berlin and then broke the world record twice in F56 category at Indian Open National Para Athletic Championship in 2022 by reaching 48.34m with his discus, has bigger dreams for this summer.
“I am focusing on strength, technique and speed so that I can at least reach the level of 2022 when I broke the world record,” said the para athlete, who recovered from two back-to-back injuries ahead of the season and qualified for the Worlds at last year’s Indian Open Paralympic International Championship in Bengaluru.
“In Paris, I would like to cross the 50m barrier, something that I have been aiming for some time now.”
Overcoming
Guillain-Barré syndrome
that struck him when he was 9 years old, Yogesh got into sports in 2016 while completing his graduation from Kirori Mal College in the capital. He then shot into limelight when he won his first major medal in men’s F-56 discus throw at World Para Athletics Championships in 2019.
There he finished third and won India a quota for Tokyo Paralympics where he was one of the shining stars of the journey that led to India winning 19 medals – including eight gold.
In 2023, the star para-athlete continued his good show and won silver at both
Asian Games
and the World Championship in Paris and a Paralympic quota for India.
For now all his focus is on
Paris Paralympics
though, for which he has chosen to train in India only. “I was asked by TOPS scheme about training abroad. But after considering everything, I chose to stay in India,” said Yogesh, explaining his choice of training base.
“You need foreign training when there are problems here. But the federation (PCI) and TOPS have provided us with the best facilities here. Also, I like the freedom to train anytime. In foreign countries, there is usually a designated time for using the facilities that can cause me problems.”
