Para Games and India
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Asian Para Games
2018
From: Pratyush Raj, Economics scholar writes golden script in Para Asiad, October 11, 2018: The Times of India
See graphic:
Results, Performance of Indian players in Para Asian Games- 2018
72 medals (15 gold): India’s best-ever medal haul
Best-ever medal haul for India, October 14, 2018: The Times of India
India recorded its best-ever showing in the Asian Para Games by bagging 72 medals, including 15 gold, with the shuttlers adding two yellow metals and three bronze on the concluding day of competitions here Saturday.
With 15 gold, 24 silver and 33 bronze medals, India was placed ninth in the overall tally. China finished on top with 172 gold, 88 silver and 59 bronze for a whopping total of 319 medals.
This was India’s best ever performance, bettering the last edition (2014) tally of 33 medals (3 gold, 14 silver, 16 bronze).
Harvinder wins India’s first Para Asian gold in archery
Harvinder Singh, an economics scholar from the Punjabi University in Patiala, created history on Wednesday by winning India’s first-ever Para Asian gold medal in archery.
The 27-year-old from Kaithal in Haryana was left with a stunted left foot after being injected with a wrong injection for fever when he was five.
He beat China’s Zhao Lixue 6-0 in the final of W2/ST category (athletes with limited impairment, who may take aim without needing a wheelchair) of the men’s individual recurve event in Jakarta on Wednesday. “This medal is for my mother who passed away last month due to kidney failure. She made a lot of sacrifices. I wanted her to hold the gold medal,” an emotional Harvinder told TOI over telephone from Jakarta.
“The past couple of months were very chaotic for me. I had to submit my PhD synopsis when the national camp was underway. But thanks to my federation, I was given time to submit it,” said Harvinder.
“A week after submitting my synopsis, my mother passed away. I was shattered, but my coach Jiwanjot Singh Teja (former national compound archery coach) gave me confidence to compete. I was very nervous and told him that I was not ready for the Para Asian Games, but he encouraged me and advised me to focus on my game,” he added.
Harvinder, who belongs to a family of farmers, took up archery as a hobby at the university. Teja, who recently resigned as the national coach over the Dronacharya snub, asked him to take up the sport professionally. Talking about his coach, the para athlete from Kaithal’s Wazirnagar village, said: “This is a conspiracy against him. India has lost a great coach. He has proved his worth and should get his due.”
India bags 11 medals; Sandeep’s world record
Sandeep claims gold with world record, October 9, 2018: The Times of India
Javelin thrower Sandeep Chaudhary produced a stunning world record effort as India bagged 11 medals, including three gold, on a productive day at the Asian Para Games here on Monday.
Chaudhary clinched India's first gold of the Games in the men's F42-44/61-64 category in the morning session, before middle distance runner Raju Rakshitha (women's T111500m) and swimmer Jadhav Suyash Narayan (men's S7 50m butterfly) added the yellow metals later on the second day of competitions.
Chaudhary claimed the top spot with a best throw of 60.01m, which he managed in his third attempt. He, in the process, shattered the F44 world record, bettering the earlier mark of 59.82, which Chinese Mingjie Gao made in 1980.
Para-athletics gave two more silver also with Ramya Shanmugam and Radha Venkatesh finishing second in women's F46 javelin throw and women's T12/13 1500m race respectively. Swimming also fetched four medals. Besides, the gold from Narayan, India also won three bronze from swimming on Monday. India also won a silver in para-powerlifting while shooting para sport gave the country a silver and a bronze.
With these 11 medals, India's medal tally stood at 3 gold, 6 silver and 7 bronze to occupy the eighth spot. India had won two silver and three bronze on Sunday. China are on top of the medal table with 35 gold, 14 silver and 17 bronze, followed by South Korea with 14 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze.
India wins 5 gold, Deepa 2nd bronze
October 13, 2018: The Times of India
Para athletes added two gold medals to India’s kitty after chess players and a shuttler grabbed yellow metals as the country continued its impressive performance at the Asian Para Games where Paralympic medallist Deepa Malik bagged her second bronze.
K Jennitha Anto clinched the gold in women’s individual rapid P1 chess event after beating Manurung Roslinda of Indonesia 1-0 in the final round, while Kishan Gangolli got the better of Majid Bagheri in the men’s individual rapid VI - B2/B3 event.
Rapid P1 event is for physically impaired athletes while rapid VI - B2/B3 event features partially blind competitors. In para-badminton, Parul Parmar notched up a 21-9 21-5 victory over Wandee Kamtam of Thailand to win the gold medal in the women’s singles SL3 event.
Athletes in this class have impairment in one or both lower limbs and poor walking/ running balance but they play in standing positions. “I work as a coach in the Gujarat’s Sports Authority of India. My target is Paralympics. I will play in the World Championships next,” Parmar said.
“So, I want support from my office and I need sponsors. When we go to play international tournaments we don’t have sponsors and we have to fund ourselves. I request the government to help us,” she added. Later, para athletes further made it a memorable day for the Indians.
It was double delight for India in the men’s javelin throw F55 event as Neeraj Yadav and Amit Balyan clinched the gold and silver medals respectively. While Neeraj’s best effort was 29.24m, Amit threw the spear to 29.79 to win the silver. The bronze was bagged by Vietnam’s Kieu Minh.
Sharad sets high jump record
Sharad smashes record to win high jump gold, October 12, 2018: The Times of India
India took over the podium in men’s high jump T42/63 category, claiming all the medals up for grabs with defending champion Sharad Kumar smashing two records to snare a second successive gold in the Asian Para Games. The 26-year-old world championships silver-medallist bettered the Asian as well as the Games record with a jump of 1.90m to claim the top honours. The T42/63 covers lower limb deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power and impaired range of movement.
The silver was claimed by Rio Paralympic bronze-medallist Varun Bhati (1.82m) and the bronze went to the Rio gold-medallist Thangavelu Mariyappan (1.67m). Bhati’s jump was his season’s best effort. Sharad, who hails from Bihar, suffered paralysis in his left leg at the age of two after being administered a spurious polio medicine at the local eradication drive. He has been a former world number one.
Earlier, Indian javelin thrower Sundar Singh Gurjar won a silver medal in the men’s F46 category where two-time Paralympic goldmedallist Devendra Jhajharia finished fourth. In the same event, Rinku picked up a bronze medal to make it an India-dominated podium. The F46 category of disability covers upper limb deficiency, impaired muscle power or impaired range of movement.
India also logged a bronze in the men’s 400m T13 category with Avnil Kumar claiming the third position. The T13 classification deals with visual impairment. In javelin throw, Gurjar notched up his silver with an effort of 61.33m in his fifth attempt. Gurjar trained for 22 days in Finland before the Games, an exercise that was backed by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
Rinku recorded a personal best of 60.92m for the bronze.
