Paris Paralympics: Hokato Sema secures bronze for India in men's F57 shot put final

PARIS: Indian para-athlete Hokato Hotozhe Sema secured a bronze medal for the country at the ongoing Paris Paralympics in the final of the men's shot put F57 final on Saturday. In the medal match, Hokato recorded the best throw of 14.65 m, which is also his personal best now.

Iran's Yashin Khosravi secured the top spot and gold with a throw of 15.96 m while the silver went to Thiago Paulino dos Santos of Brazil after he threw 15.06 m. However, another Indian, Soman Rana, managed the best throw of 14.07 and finished outside the podium spots at fifth.

Indian para-athlete Bhavanaben Chaudhary finished at fifth spot in the women's F46 javelin throw final at the ongoing Paris Paralympics on Saturday. Bhavanaben bowed out of the competition despite her best efforts, securing a best throw of 39.70 metres. Venezuela's Naibys Daniela Morillo Gil took home the gold with a Paralympic record-breaking throw of 43.77 m.

At the second spot was Uzbekistan's Shahinakhon Yigitalieva with an Asian record throw of 43.12 m. The bronze was bagged by Hollie Arnold of Great Britain with a throw of 40.59 metres. Coming to the women's 200 m T12 race semifinals, India's Simran Sharma continued her fine run with a first place finish with a timing of 25.03 seconds to seal a spot in the finals, which will take place on Saturday, 11:04 PM IST.

Praveen Kumar secured gold medal for the country at the ongoing Paris Paralympics in the men's high jump T64 final on Friday. In the medal round, Praveen performed a record-breaking jump of 2.08 metres.

With this jump, he has established an all-new Asian record. At the second and third spots were the USA's Derek Loccident (2.06 m) and Uzbekistan's Temurbek Giyazov (2.03 m) respectively. Derek broke the Paralympic record by Japan's Toru Suzuki from 2021 (1.88 m) while the Uzbekistan's Giyazov recorded a personal best jump. With this medal, India's medal tally in the ongoing Paralympics has gone up to 27, with six gold medals, nine silver medals, and 12 bronze medals.

This is the most gold India has ever won at a Paralympics Games event, outdoing the total of five golds in Tokyo 2020. Indian para-athletes in particular have made the country proud with three golds, six silver and six bronze medals, giving them a total of 15 medals. This year, India has sent its largest Paralympics contingent ever, comprising 84 athletes across 12 sports, a testament to the country's expanding para-sports ecosystem.

India's participation in the Paris 2024 Paralympics marks not only a significant increase in numbers but also in medal hopes, as the nation aims to surpass its previous achievements in Tokyo. Tokyo 2020 was previously India's most successful Paralympic Games, with the country winning 19 medals, including five golds, eight silvers, and six bronzes.