Kritika Gaur Sachin Khilari’s incredible performance in the F46 shot put event at the Para World Athletics Championship earned him a well-deserved gold medal. Learn more about his inspiring journey.
India had a super awesome day at the Para World Athletics Championships in Kobe! Sachin Sarjerao Khilari totally rocked the F46 shot put event and won a gold medal. This is India’s best performance ever at the championships! Khilari threw the shot put a whopping 16.30m, breaking his own Asian record from last year. This is India’s fifth gold medal at the competition. Way to go, Team India!
With three days to go in the championships, India now have 12 medals (5 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze) and are placed behind table toppers China who have won 48 medals (18 gold, 16 silver, 14 bronze) and Brazil (17 gold, 8 silver, 5 bronze). India’s previous best tally in the competition came at the 2023 iteration in Paris where the team bagged 10 medals (3 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze) to finish on the 19th spot.
Khilari started off strong with a throw of 14.73m and continued to improve with each throw. He ended up taking first place with a final throw of 16.30m. Greg Stewart from Canada came in second with a great throw of 16.14m, his best of the season. Luka Bakovic from Croatia took home the bronze with a personal best throw of 16.04m. Unfortunately, Mohammed Yasser from the same country finished in eighth place with a throw of 14.62m. Rohit Kumar had a tough day, fouling in all three of his attempts and was eliminated early on.
Know Sachin Serjerao Khilari
Meet Khilari, a 34-year-old from Karagani village in Maharashtra’s Sangli district. When he was in school, he had an accident that left his left hand disabled. He lost the muscles in his elbow because of gangrene, and even after having many surgeries, his arm never fully healed.
The F46 category in para athletics is for athletes who have some trouble moving their arms or don’t have arms at all. They have to use their hips and legs to throw things in competitions.
The Hangzhou Asian Games gold-medallist thrower told PTI that he was confident of taking the top podium spot. “I was expecting the gold here and I am happy. I have also qualified for the Paris Paralympics and hope to win gold there as well,” Khilari said.
India Wins Hearts Apart From Medals
India won another medal today in the men’s F51 club throw event. Dharambir threw the club 33.61 meters to win the bronze medal. Dharambir, who won a silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games, also broke his own Asian record during the competition. He surpassed his previous record of 31.09 meters, which he set in 2022 at the Fazza International Para Athletics Championships in Dubai.
The gold was won by Serbia’s Zeljko Dimitrijevic who recorded a championship record throw of 34.20m on his fifth attempt. The previous record of 33.82m was also held by Dimitrijevic — he had achieved the feat in Dubai in 2019. Mexico’s Maria Santana Hernandez won the silver with a season’s best throw of 33.62m. Dharambir’s bronze-winning throw of 33.61m was 0.01cm shy of Hernandez’s mark but was enough to rewrite the continental mark. His series read 21.63, 26.97, 21.43, 33.15, 33.61, and 33.21. Compatriot Pranav Soorma finished fourth with an effort of 33.10m.
India at World Para Championships
Earlier, Sumit Antil totally crushed it by winning the gold medal in the F64 javelin event at the World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan! This dude is on fire! He’s already a champ from the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, and now he’s done it again with a throw of 69.50m.
