Paris. Dharambir broke the Asian record here on Wednesday to win the gold medal in the men’s F51 club throw event while Pranav Surma won the silver medal, thus India dominated this Paralympic event. World Championship bronze medalist 35-year-old Dharambir from Sonipat was the first to enter the field. After fouling in the first four attempts, he threw the club to a distance of 34.92 meters in the fifth attempt and then remained on top throughout the competition.
Pranav threw 34.59 meters in his first attempt but despite this, the 29-year-old player from Faridabad could not beat Dharamvir. Filip Graovac of Serbia won the bronze medal by throwing 34.18 meters in his second attempt. Another Indian participating in the same event and 2017 World Championship silver medalist Amit Kumar Saroha, however, finished 10th and last with a best effort of 23.96 meters.
The F51 club throw event is for athletes with severely impaired movement in the torso, legs and arms. All competitors compete in a seated position and rely on their shoulders and arms to generate power. Dharambir was paralysed from the waist down after diving into a canal incorrectly. Para sports gave him a new direction in life when fellow para athlete Amit Kumar Saroha joined him. Within two years, Dharambir qualified for the 2016 Rio Paralympics, which was the beginning of a successful career. Since then, he has won several medals for India, including a silver medal at the 2022 Asian Para Games.
A cricket and roller hockey enthusiast, Pranav was 16 when a cement sheet fell on his head, causing severe spinal cord injury and left him paralysed. The support of his family and positive thinking helped him turn to focus and education. He excelled in his 12th board exams with 91.2 per cent marks. He then went on to pursue a postgraduate degree from the Delhi School of Economics and a job as an assistant manager in the Bank of Baroda.
For Amit, there is no better Guru Dakshina than Dharambir’s gold and Pranav’s silver in Paralympics
Amit Kumar Saroha may have finished last in the men’s club throw F51 event at the Paralympics, but the success of the younger generation in the form of his disciple Dharambir’s gold and Pranav Surma’s silver medal is like mission accomplished for him. On Wednesday, India’s medal tally at the Paralympics rose to 24 when Dharambir and Pranav finished in the top two but Amit finished last in the same event. Amit, however, is excited that the team will return with a gold medal.
The 39-year-old player said after the competition, “I would not say that it was unfortunate for me.” Amit said, “Yes, my competition was not good. I was watching Dharambir, he had fouled the first four throws. I was getting very worried that the competition was getting worse and the same happened with me.” Explaining the complexity of this competition, Amit said that many factors have to work together to be successful.
He said, “Our disability is very severe – our fingers don’t work and we have to stick the club with glue. But due to the cold it became so sticky that it was not possible to hold. Due to the stickiness, the skin of my fingers also got torn in this process.” But Amit said that he was not disappointed at missing out on winning a medal in his fourth attempt.
He said, “My dream has come true. Ever since I started participating in sports, it was my dream to win a medal in the Paralympics and this is my fourth competition – you know I am the most senior athlete in the team – so what if I could not win it, my disciple won it.” When asked if Dharambir’s gold was a gift ahead of Teacher’s Day, Amit said it was more than any wish he had.
He said, “We are going back with a gold medal and there can be no bigger Guru Dakshina than that we were together, we were competing against each other and he won the gold medal.” Amit said, “Not just the Teacher’s Day gift, he has given me all the gifts today (that one can give). Not only him, but Pranav (Surma) as well, because when I started club throw in India, no one knew what it was.”