The post Sumit Antil wins gold in men’s javelin (F64): Tokyo Paralympics appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Australia’s Michal Burian won the silver medal, with a best attempt of 66.29m, while Sri Lanka’s Dulan Kodithuwakku took home the bronze medal.
Antil lay down the marker with his very first throw, which put him in the lead and also broke the existing world record in the category – also set by him.
He then set the world record again with his second attempt of 68.08m.
His third and fourth attempts were 65.27 and 66.71 respectively, but he seemed to have already sealed the gold medal, with none of his competitors really threatening his position.
Then, in the fifth attempt, he threw 68.55m to create the world record for the third time in the day and ensure India’s second gold medal at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics.
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]]>The post Avani Lekhara creates a new Paralympic record appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>The 19-year-old from Jaipur, who sustained spinal cord injuries in a car accident in 2012, finished with a world record equalling total of 249.6, which is also a new Paralympic record.
She is only the fourth Indian athlete to win a Paralympics gold after swimmer Murlikant Petkar (1972), javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia (2004 and 2016) and high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu (2016).
“I can’t describe this feeling, I’m feeling like I’m on top of the world. It’s unexplainable,” an elated Lekhara said.
Hers is also the first shooting medal that India has logged in the showpiece.
“I’m so happy I could be the one to contribute it. Hopefully there’s a lot of medals more to come,” Lekhara said.
Lekhara edged out 2016 Rio Games gold-medallist Cuiping Zhangh of China who clinched the silver medal with a total of 248.9 at the Asaka Shooting Range.
World number one and reigning world champion Iryna Shchetnik of Ukraine took home the bronze with an effort of 227.5.
She will also be competing in the mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1, the women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1 and the mixed 50m Rifle Prone event.
In the SH1 Rifle category, shooters are able to hold a gun with arms.
The athletes have an impairment in their legs, for example amputations or paraplegia.
Some athletes will compete in a seated position, while others will compete in a standing position.
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]]>The post Neeraj Chopra says “It feels unbelievable” after winning good medal appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>“It feels unbelievable. It is the first time India has won a gold in athletics, so I feel very good. We have just one gold here in other sports,” the 23-year-old said after winning the historic gold.
Neeraj’s gold took India’s medal tally to 7, making Tokyo 2020 their most successful Olympics. India had won 6 medals at the London Olympics 2012.
This is our first Olympic medal for a very long time, and in athletics it is the first time we have gold, so it’s a proud moment for me and my country,” Neeraj said.
Asked if he was surprised to win gold which also featured German great Johannes Vetter, he said, “In the qualification round I threw very well so I knew I could do better in the final.”
(But) I didn’t know it would be gold but I am very happy.”
Few would have thought that Chopra would bludgeon his way to gold in such a dominant fashion at the grandest of the stage.
Just like in the qualification round, Chopra began with a bang by sending the spear to a distance of 87.03m and then improved it to 87.58m, his best of the day which none in the field could match.
His third throw was a poor 76.76m, he then fouled his next two attempts before a final effort of 84.24m.
By the time the Nordic javelin left his right hand in his second attempt, he knew that it was going the farthest among all and he raised both his arms in jubilation, confident that the job had been done.
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]]>The post Ten important points about Neeraj Chopra appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>Here are 10 points on this big story:
1) Mr Chopra is a Subedar with 4 Rajputana Rifles in the Indian Army. He is a graduate of DAV College in Chandigarh.
2) He is the son of a farmer from Haryana. The state government has announced it would honour the athlete with Rs 6 crore.
3) “The golden victory of Subedar Neeraj Chopra at the Olympic brings laurels for the Indian Army. He performed like a true soldier at the Olympics. It is indeed a historic and proud moment for the entire country including the Indian Armed Forces! Many congratulations to him,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted.
4) Mr Chopra came into the Olympics with the fourth best throw of the year and lived up to his form as a faltering Johannes Vetter of Germany struggled and failed to qualify as one of the top eight.
5) He is the first athlete representing India to have won gold in javelin throw at both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. He claimed victory at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, and the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.
6) Mr Chopra became the first Indian competitor to win a junior world title in athletics when he claimed gold in javelin throw at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Poland
7) He took up the sport in 2011, inspired by watching people practice throwing javelin in Haryana, according to his bio on the Olympics official website.
8) Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane and all ranks of the Indian Army congratulate Subedar Neeraj Chopra on winning nation’s first ever gold medal in javelin in Olympics with a throw of 87.58 metres, the Army tweeted from its official handle.
9) Mr Chopra’s win is India’s first gold medal at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.
10) It is also the country’s second individual gold medal in its Olympic history after Abhinav Bindra’s heroics in Beijing 2008.
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]]>The post South Korea’s An San becomes first archer to win three gold medals in a single edition of Olympics appeared first on The Edge Media.
]]>An beat Osipova 6-5 in a thrilling gold medal match that needed to be decided via a tie-breaker. An shot a 10 while Osipova could only get an eight, thus settling for silver. It is a third gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics for An, who became a target for online hostility at home after cutting her hair short, a look labelled “feminist” by some social media users.
An is now the first archer to win three gold medals in a single edition of the Olympics.
Traditionally dominant in the sport, South Korea took gold in the mixed and women’s team events at Tokyo 2020, the latter for the ninth Games in a row to equal the overall Olympic record.
An’s women’s squad team mate, Kang Chae-young, was unexpectedly knocked out on Friday at the quarter final stage.
“I thought I shot good, but not many arrows hit 10s,” a tearful Kang, seeded three, said after falling to Osipova, the 22nd seed.
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