Nagoya, Oct 20 (IANS) India produced a dominant performance in the men’s discus throw F43/F44/F62/F64 final at the Asian Para Games, sweeping all three medals as Devender Kumar clinched gold, Rakesh secured silver and Pardeep Kumar claimed bronze.
Devender topped the standings with 781 Raza points after registering his best throw of 49.71 metres in his second attempt. Rakesh finished second with 771 points, courtesy of his best effort of 49.35 metres, while Pardeep took bronze with 669 points.
The competition combined athletes from different classification categories, with the Raza point system used to determine the final standings. The system converts performances into points to allow athletes with different types or degrees of disability to compete on a comparable basis. The athlete with the highest points total finishes ahead of the others, regardless of the absolute distance recorded.
Devender opened his campaign with a throw of 48.85 metres before improving to 49.71 metres in his second attempt. He fouled on his third and fourth attempts, managed 45.20 metres in his fifth, and recorded another foul in his final attempt. His second-round effort proved decisive, earning him the gold medal.
Rakesh began with 47.87 metres and recorded 46.08 metres in his second attempt. After a foul in the third round, he produced his best throw of 49.35 metres in the fourth attempt. He could not improve on that effort in his remaining two attempts but finished second with 771 Raza points.
Pardeep, competing in the F64 category, recorded a personal best of 51.15 metres in his second attempt to secure the bronze medal. Despite registering a greater distance than both Devender and Rakesh, he finished third under the combined-classification scoring system.
Pardeep opened with 46.95 metres before achieving his personal best in the second round. He followed it with 50.83 metres in the third attempt, then recorded 46.16 metres, 48.80 metres and 47.84 metres in his final three throws.
–IANS
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