Paris Paralympics 2024 Day 6 Highlights: India hit 20 with medals in high jump for Sharad, Thangavelu; medals in javelin for Ajeet, Sundar

Confirmation of results in javelin throw 

Ajeet Singh with a late charge for silver here, while Sundar Singh Gurjar made it back-to-back bronze medals in Tokyo and Paris. Varona Gonzalez with a stunning continental record, personal best to add Paralympics gold to his World Championships gold.

Confirmation of the results in high jump. Teenage star of USA Ezra Frech put on a stunning show. 

Sharad Kumar sets a new Paralympic Record for his specific class (T42), Mariyappan Thangavelu enters an elite club of Indians with three Paralympics medals. 

Men's High Jump T63 Final 

Sharad Kumar (T42) wins silver medal with the best jump of 1.88m; setting the new Paralympic Record in T42 category; Sharad also upgrades his bronze medal from Tokyo to Silver in Paris

Mariyappan Thangavelu (T42) wins bronze medal with the best jump of 1.85m  

Men's Javelin Throw F46 Final

Ajeet Singh wins silver medal with personal best throw of 65.62m

Sundar Singh Gurjar wins bronze medal with season best throw of 64.96

(SAI) 

SILVER - BRONZE FOR INDIA: Ajeet Singh's superb late throw took him to second spot. Then Sundar was seen holding his back after his final throw. But in the end, happy faces in the Indian camp. Sundar and Ajeet hold the tricolour together. 

AND WITH THAT INDIA HAVE HIT THE 20-MEDAL MARK! Tokyo has been crossed. 

SILVER MEDAL FOR SHARAD KUMAR: Bronze in Tokyo, now silver in Paris. Sharad Kumar is disappointed initially but realises soon he has gone better. Celebrates the moment!  

No Sam Grewe but what a show Ezra Frech has put on! First-time clearance of 1.91m. And that is gold all but sealed.

Nishad missed 1.91 with his first attempt but he has opted to move the bar higher along with Ezra for 1.94. 

AJEET SINGH! What a throw with his fifth attempt. A massive 65.62m from him, it is a new Personal Best! And he moves into second spot ahead of Sundar Singh Gurjar. 2-3 has been swapped! 

ONE ATTEMPTS TO GO. What an event this has turned into. 

BRONZE MEDAL FOR THANGAVELU: With Shailesh and Wagner missing 1.88 too, Thangavelu gets bronze for his clean slate earlier today, without missing.

THANGAVELU IS DONE: Three failed clearances at 1.88m and it is a disappointing night for him. But he is still third. If Shailesh and Wagner don't clear this height, he will get a bronze, will Thangavelu.

SUNDAR SINGH: That's a fine throw from the Indian, 64.96m for his SEASON BEST. It is not enough to trouble Varona Gonzalez at the top but the Indian showing he can get closer. 

Four attempts done and India are looking good for two medals here. 

Nio improvements with their fourth attempts for Rinku and Ajeet Singh. 

Sundar next. Can he find something extra in his tank? 

There is a change at the top as Ezra Frech clears 1.88 with his first go! That is followed by Thangavelu's first miss of the night. Everyone but Ezra miss their first go at this height. 

Three attempts done in javelin and it is India 2-3-4 here. The top spot seems to be all but confirmed here given how no one else has come close to Varona. But the battle for the next three spots could still be interesting. 

Shailesh Kumar also clears 1.85m! And once again, he just about clears it. Playing it quite tight. 

The bar moves up to 1.88m, five athletes left, three of those Indians (so that confirms a medal)

And Ezra Frech clears 1.85m too, with his 2nd try just like Sharad! This is heating up nicely. 

Thangavelu the only athlete with a clean board so far. 

Thangavelu Mariyappan looking good here! First-time clearances at 1.77m, 1.81m, 1.85m.

Sharad though having some trouble. After that first attempt at 1.85 where he didn't come close, he aborts his 2nd attempt by just running through the side... but back to take it now, and he clears it! A pumped up celebration from him. Shailesh didn't clear the height and will come back again.

For now, though it is India 1-2.

62.33m by Ajeet Singh and that improves his mark for the night... but keeps him third for now. 

Rinku too crosses the 60m mark with 60.58m for his third attempt and now it is India 2-3-4 on the standings. 

Sharad's first attempt at 1.85m is not even close. He got the timing of his jump wrong there it looked like, didn't even manage to land on the bed. That will set him back a bit if countback comes into play. 

Sundar with 61.75 for his 2nd throw, doesn't improve his first attempt, so he will have to reset again. WHOAA! A massive throw from world champ Varona with his 2nd attempt. And despite having to restart his run-up that too. 66.14 for an AREA RECORD. 

The Indians have a lot of catching up to do. 

Varona Gonzalez, who has taken over the lead in this event, is the world champion coming into the Paralympics by the way.

Rinku's second attempt is a foul.

And Ajeet Singh goes past 60 too. 60.53m for the Indian with his 2nd attempt, means it is a 2-3 for India at the moment. Meanwhile Sumit is in the stands cheering his teammates on.

Grewe is quite close to Frech, so for the latter to see Grewe inconsolable might not have been easy. But he clears 1.81m quite nicely. 

But as have all three Indians. Sharad, Thangavelu... and (just about!) Shailesh, He almost speaks to the bar there to keep it in place. 

Rinku starts with 57.34, and that is not the best of starts by his caliber.

Ajeet Singh goes first in this event, and he starts with 59.80. 

Rinku will be throwing shortly. 

INCREDIBLE DRAMA. Reigning champion Sam Grew is out! Three missed attempts at 1.77m. Unreal. He is inconsolable, sobbing.

If Grew doesn't come up with a big improvement, this US showdown might not even pan out.

The men's T63 high jump tonight could blossom into a dramatic showdown between Michigan med student & defending Paralympic champion and Rio 2016 silver medalist @samgrewe (right) & 19-year old, world record holder (1.97m) & world champion Ezra Frech. Grewe mentored Frech & Frech… pic.twitter.com/dFNAYOCdQt

— Brian Pinelli (@Brian_Pinelli) September 3, 2024

Wow, there is the first surprise of the event. Sam Grewe with failed clearance at 1.77m for the first attempt. 

Thangavelu and Frech finally begin their event, both clear 1.77m in the first go. 

Shailesh Kumar starts off with a first-time clearance of 1.72m. Sharad Kumar with a first-time clearance of 1.77m. Expectedly, Frech and Thangavelu are yet to start off. Taking their time. 

Grewe surprisingly opts for a jump as early as 1.67m. Maybe just to get that first clearance. 

Here;'s how the Worlds final unfolded in this event. Thangavelu finished 1st ahead of Frech and Grewe. Grewe is the reigning champion. 

Coming up shortly: It has been a productive event in the past for India at the Paralympics. Mariyappan Thangavelu is the current World Champion and a two-time medallist at the Paralympics (gold in Rio - T42, silver in Tokyo - T63). Shard Kumar and Shailesh Kumar are also in contention. 

START TIME: 11.50 pm IST

Here's how the World Championships panned out earlier this year.

Here's the start list for Men's Javelin Throw - F46 Final. Sundar Singh Gurjar is the World Record holder with 68.60. But at the Kobe World Championships it was Rinku and Ajeet Singh who had won silver and bronze. 

START TIME: 12.13 am. 

Deepthi Jeevanji posing with the Indian flag at Stade de France 

Photo: PCI

Para athletics has always been India' main source of medals at the Paralympics. But never in the history before Paris, had there been medals in track running events for India. Now, we have seen three in Paris. (And potentially one more to come via Simran in 200m T12)  

#Paris2024 #Paralympics #Athletics

Before Paris, India had never won a track-running event medal in the history of Paralympics.

Now:

? Preethi Pal: Women's 100m T35:
?Preethi Pal: Women's 200m T35
? Deepthi Jeevanji: Women's 400m T20 https://t.co/b0N8tA4XfT pic.twitter.com/vklUnRW3Lz

— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) September 3, 2024

BRONZE MEDAL ALERT! Deepthi Jeevanji finishes third with 55.82s... she was second in the final stages but the world record holder Onder with a STUNNING late surge to go past her. But the event is won by Yuliia Shuliar of Ukraine 

Deepthi is here. Time for the 400m-T20 final. The reigning champion Clark of USA is also in the mix here.

Here's how the Heats panned out. Deepthi and Onder the only ones to dip below 56 seconds. It is shaping into a clear 1-2 battle. How will the final go? We are ready for athlete introductions.

The two main contenders for this final.

PARA ATHLETICS CLASSIFICATION: 

The base classification for all para athletics events has a letter and a number. The letter stands for track (T) or field (F). The number denotes the type of impairment as below. 

• ??11-13: vision impairment
• 20: intellectual impairment
• 31-38: co-ordination impairments?
• 40-47: short stature, upper limb competing with prosthesis or equivalent, lower limb competing with prosthesis or equivalent?
• T51-54: wheelchair races
• F51-58: seated throws
• 61-64: lower limb competing with prosthesis

Here's how Deepthi-Onder had finished 1-2 at the Worlds recently. Will it be swapped? Or will Deepthi get the better of this again? 

Here's the start list for the event. Deepthi came into Paris with the World Record (set when she won the World Championships gold). But it was broken by Aysel Onder in the Heats. Onder and Deepthi will be going head to head for this title. 

This will haunt Pooja. For days and weeks to come. What a missed chance.

Set 5 to Wu, Wu wins it 6-4: Here we go, deciding set then. Wu shoots first, it is a 8! This is a really great chance for Pooja. That is a solid 9 from her, quite close to the center. Wu with a 9 and moves to 17. Pooja's 2nd arrow is... a 7! And that, is perhaps that. Wu can win this match with a 10, and she goes ahead and done it. Wu had a wry smile on her face not long ago thinking the match was lost. 

Sensational recovery by Wu, just an absolutely massive miss for Pooja who was a 9 away from winning this match 6-0. 

Set 4 to Wu, match tied 4-4: Pooja has lost all the rhythm... she had the chance to tie the set with a 10, and it is a 7. Wu is giving her the chances but Pooja hasn't taken them. And now we go to a deciding 5th Set. Winner takes the match, tied set means a shootoff. 

Set 3 to Wu, 4-2 to India: Two stunning 10s from Pooja to start Set 3. 10-9-9 from Wu... Pooja could win this match with a 9 or 10... and she hits a 7 (Correction)!!! Oh dear. What a missed chance. Now she has to react quickly. Recovery the key. 

Set 2 to Pooja, 4-0 to India: Wu will shoot first in Set 2, as she trails. And it is another 8 from her. The arrows are dipping late for her. Pooja however drops a 7. Wu's 2nd arrow is also a 7. So there is a chance for Pooja... and she shoots a 8. Pooja can win the set with 10... and she gets it! What a clutch arrow.

Set 1 to Pooja, 2-0 India: Super start from Pooja, with a 10 for her first arrow. It's a 7-9-7 from the Chinese archer. Pooja needs just a 5 to win this set, and it is a really nice 9. 28 from the India.

"She's probably the most celebrated archer here in Paris in this category," is how the commentator introduces Wu. 

Let's see how this goes. This is the Set system. 

• In recurve elimination matches, a set system is used like at the Olympics. Each archer shoot series of arrows called ‘sets’. Whoever wins the set, gets 2 points. If the set is drawn, it is 1 point each. In an individual match, whoever reaches 6 points wins. And if there is a tie, one-arrow tiebreak where closest to center wins.

Heere we go then, Pooja vs Wu, the 2nd seed from China.

There haven't been any medals for India so far today, but fear not Indian sports fans, a very productive athletics session likely coming up tonight.

PARA ARCHERY QUICK GUIDE:

• The three classes in para archery are recurve open, compound open and W1. Athletes in the open category usually have an impairment in either the top or bottom half or one side of their bodies. In W1, archers have an impairment in both the top and bottom halves of their bodies and the torso. India have entries in the recurve open and compound open categories. 
• Recurve and Compound, of course, refer to the type of bow that archers use in their respective classes. In W1, an archer can use either type of bow, but some restrictions apply. 
• Like at the Olympics, recurve archers shoot from a distance of 70 metres at targets measuring 122 centimetres in diameter.
• In recurve elimination matches, a set system is used like at the Olympics. Each archer shoot series of arrows called ‘sets’. Whoever wins the set, gets 2 points. If the set is drawn, it is 1 point each. In an individual match, whoever reaches 6 points wins. And if there is a tie, one-arrow tiebreak where closest to center wins.

Yogesh Kathuniya, diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome at 9, defied the odds to become a 2-time Paralympics silver medallist in discus throw.

Despite a prognosis that he might never walk again, Yogesh’s journey from a challenging childhood to the global stage is marked by… pic.twitter.com/AQsbyL5a5R

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) September 3, 2024

Rioght then... time to look forward to another session of archery. Pooja's quarterfinal is the fourth out of four matches. Session begins right now.