Dubai 2022 Para Athletics GP: Dharambir, Devendra claim silver; three medals for India on opening day
Dubai 2022 Para Athletics GP: Dharambir, Devendra claim silver; three medals for India on opening day
Dubai: Para athletes Dharambir and Devendra Singh claimed silver medals each as the Dubai 2022 World Para Athletics Grand Prix – 13th Fazza International Para Athletics Championships kicked off at the Dubai Club for People of Determination grounds here on Monday evening.
India overall took three medals on the opening day with Jyoti Behera claiming a bronze in 400m women’s final T37/38/47 final.
In club throw men final F32/51, Dharambir, the Indonesia 2018 Asian Para Games silver medallist, threw the Club to a distance of 31.09 metres in his second attempt to finish second behind Algeria’s Walid Ferhah who stayed ahead right from the first throw and saving his best in the end – 37.42m.
In the effort, Dharambir also set a new Asian record.
Great Britain’s Stephen Miller took the bronze with 29.28 m.
Later, Devendra settled for the silver in men’s discus throw F44 after hurling the discus to a distance of 50.36 m in combined F42/43/44 category. Kuwait’s Faisal Sorour, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic bronze medallist, took the F42 gold with a throw of 47.61.m, which was also a new Asian record while France’s Badr Touzi claimed the bronze in F42 with a 39.16 m throw.
“I am very happy with the result here. Few months back I wasn’t sure if I was competing in the Fazza event due to health reasons. I was down with Covid-19 and hardly trained for the past few months. We have important events in the year ahead, so it was good to start the year with a medal,” said the 28-year-old Devendra.
Overall, six records were broken on the opening day including one world record, thanks to the efforts of Columbia’s Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion Jose Gregorio Lemos Rivas who stole the limelight in men’s javelin final F12/13/38. The 30-year-old hurled the javelin to a distance of 60.58 m in his fourth throw, for a new world record and the gold medal.
The Championships, hosted under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, kicked off the World Para Athletics’ Grand Prix season with around 500 para-athletes from 43 nations in action at the Dubai Club for People of Determination grounds this week.
The Championships hold significance as athletes will aim to achieve Minimum Qualification Standard for this July’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, this October.
