TOKYO: Sundar Singh Gurjar might have had a disappointing end to his Rio Paralympics campaign in 2016 but the javelin thrower redeemed himself from the heartbreak and won a bronze in the Tokyo Games on Monday.
While Devendra Jhajharia grabbed silver with a personal best throw of 64.35, Sundar bagged bronze with a season-best throw of 62.58.
"I am extremely elated to win a medal in the Tokyo Paralympics. In Rio 2016, I was disqualified but now I have won Bronze," Sundar told ANI after the win.
"I want to thank my coach Mahavir Saini who trained me from 2009 to 2021 and stood by me in bad times after Rio 2016. I also want to thank my family, SAI & PCI for support and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for motivation. I also want to thank my family as they helped me throughout my bad times," he added.
Sundar's coach Mahaveer Saini was also happy with the javelin thrower's performance in the Tokyo Paralympics. "We had missed a medal in Rio 2016. We didn't win gold today but we are happy with the bronze," said Mahaveer Saini.
Sundar Singh went first among the Indian trio in the final as he started with a season-best of 62.58.
Sundar Singh was shown a red flag in his 3rd and 4th attempts, after which he landed a 64.01 for his season-best in the 5th throw to land himself in a medal position.