Kobe (Japan), May 25 – India was awarded the silver and bronze medals in the men’s F46 javelin throw event at the World Para Athletics Championships on Saturday, following a successful protest against Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Priyantha Herath, who had initially finished in second place.
Rinku Hooda and Ajeet Singh initially finished third and fourth respectively in Friday’s final, but the results were put on hold pending a protest by the Indian team, which claimed Herath was ineligible to compete in the F46 category. In para sports, classifications group athletes with similar levels of physical ability to ensure fair competition. The F46 classification is designated for athletes with arm deficiencies, impaired muscle power, or impaired passive range of motion in the arms, and athletes compete in a standing position.
“He (Herath) was not classified properly and did not belong to the F46 category,” an official from the Paralympic Committee of India stated.
Following a favorable decision for India, Herath was disqualified. As a result, Rinku, who had originally finished third with an effort of 62.77 meters, was upgraded to second place, while Ajeet, who had thrown 62.11 meters, was awarded the bronze medal.
“We won the protest against the Sri Lankan, who had also won gold at the Tokyo Paralympics, as he should not have been eligible to compete,” head coach Satyanarayan told PTI. “Now, Rinku is the silver medalist, moving up from third, and Ajeet has been upgraded from fourth place to bronze.”
With these additional medals, India’s tally at the championships swelled to 14 (5 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze), placing them in sixth position overall. This marks India’s best-ever performance at the World Para Athletics Championships, surpassing the previous record of 10 medals (3 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze) achieved in the 2023 edition in Paris.
