DUBAI: Indian para athlete Dharambir set a new Asian record in the men’s F32/51 club throw event en-route winning a silver on the opening day of the 13th Fazza International Para Athletics Championships here.
India won three medals on the opening day with Devendra Singh also clinching a silver in the F44 men’s discus throw event, while Jyoti Behera claimed a bronze in 400m women’s final T37/38/47 final. In the club throw F32/51 men’s final, Dharambir, the 2018 Asian Para Games silver medallist, threw the club to a distance of 31.09m in his second attempt to finish second behind Algeria’s Walid Ferhah (37.42m) on Monday.
In the process, Dharambir also set a new Asian record. Great Britain’s Stephen Miller took the bronze with an effort of 29.28m. Later, Devendra clinched the silver in men’s discus throw F44 after hurling the disc to a distance of 50.36m in combined F42/43/44 category.
Kuwait’s Faisal Sorour, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic bronze medallist, took the F42 gold with a throw of 47.61m, which was also a new Asian record, while France’s Badr Touzi claimed the bronze in F42 with a 39.16m 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.
The championships 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. The event holds 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.
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