High Jumpers Sharad Kumar and Varun Bhati bagged silver and bronze medals respectively at the World Para Athletics Championships held in London. Sharad recorded his career best performance with a jump of 1.84m, while Bhati’s final jump was 1.77m.
“It feels good but I thought I’d jump higher than this. I’d come here chasing a gold medal, but I’ll have to make do with silver”, said Sharad after his triumph. While Bhati admitted to being dissatisfied with his own performance. “It’s quite cold so the circulation in my left leg is quite sluggish. That makes it very stiff, and that makes things difficult. But nevertheless, I jumped 1.77m in this cold wearer, which is my best effort in this kind of climate”, he reckoned. The two even received a congratulatory tweet from former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag.
Sundar Singh Gurjar clinched gold in the men’s javelin throw event. Amit Saroha joined the club when he won a silver medal in the club throw event in the F-51 category. And discus thrower Karamjyoti Dalal claimed a brone medal in the Women’s F-55 category.
Varun Bhati clinched bronze last year at the Rio Paralympics last year while Sharad Kumar won a gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Korea for his record-breaking 1.80m jump in the F-42 category.
In case you didn’t know….
The World Para Athletics Championships, formerly known as IPC Athletics Championships are held for people with physical and intellectual disabilities. The first Para Athletics Championship took place in 1994 in Berlin, Germany. Open to both male and female athletes, the sport provides a wide range of opportunities to participants. Some compete in wheelchairs and some with prostheses, while visually impaired athletes are supported by a sighted guide. The last championship was held in Doha, Qatar saw a strength of 1,229 athletes from 90 countries.
