Indian para-athletes win five medals in a late evening rush

Indians won silver and bronze in both men's high jump T63 and javelin throw F46 after Deepthi Jeevanji's bronze in the women's 400m T20 category as the country's track and field athletes clinched five medals at the Paralympic Games here on Tuesday.

Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu won silver and bronze respectively in the men's high jump T63 while Ajeet Singh and Sundar Singh Gurjar took the second and third sports in the javelin throw F46 final.

The 32-year-old Kumar cleared 1.88m while the 29-year-old Thangavelu's best effort was 1.85m. World record holder Frech Ezra of the USA won the gold. T63 classification is for athletes with single through knee or above knee limb deficiency.

Gold winner Ezra is a T63 athlete and he competed with a prosthesis. In fact, Kumar's 1.88m effort is a Paralympic record in T42, bettering the earlier 1.86m set by Thangavelu. In the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago, Kumar had won bronze while reigning world champion Thangavelu had clinched a silver. It was a sort or reversal here on Tuesday.

Both Kumar and Thangavelu were T42 athletes who have single above-the-knee amputations or a disability that is comparable. T63 classification is for athletes with single through knee or above knee limb deficiency competing with a prosthesis. T63 and T42 athletes can be combined in a single event and that was what hap- 66.16m. It was Gurjar's secpened on Tuesday.