CHENNAI: Tajinderpal Singh Toor's bid for a hat-trick of Asian Games gold medals ended in a silver as he battled tricky wet conditions due to incessant drizzle throughout the day. But the big man never seemed disappointed by it. As the evening continued to be soggy in Nagoya his celebrations, got only louder. "I was aiming for hat-trick of gold medals. My body was feeling good, I was going strong. I was confident that I can throw my best till the sixth attempt and achieve 21m. So I am a bit disappointed and not satisfied with my performance," the Punjab athlete said.
He produced a best throw of 20.64m to finish second and claim his third successive Asian Games medal. Iran's Mohammadreza Tayebise took the gold with a Games record throw of 20.81m, bettering Toor's previous mark of 20.75m set in 2018.
However, in the days leading to the Asian Games, Toor did not have the easiest of days. He had to deal with minor injuries. That may have come as another headache, as he struggled with major injuries before that. "For the last three months, I had been facing issues with minor injuries. With rain it was also difficult to have proper grip and there is fear of slipping while making the turn," he said.
"AFI put confidence in me and told me to give my best and that I had the capacity to win gold. I could not do it but I won a silver for India and a medal is medal," said Toor, whose personal best mark is 21.77m, set in 2023.
Prachi now more than 'just a relay medal winner'
Until her Asian Games medal on Saturday, Prachi Choudhary, at large, was known as one of the relay runners in the Paris Olympics. It took a race against the odds — heavy rain and a tough competition field — to elevate her stocks. With the leader Salwa Naser of Bahrain building a big gap in the final run, Prachi used every ounce of her energy to salvage her podium position. And she did it by just one tenths of a second (0.17 seconds).
And that 53.21-second run was her second best run, behind her 52.57 second mark in the Senior Inter-state athletics meet in Bhubaneswar in June. “Honestly, I’m very happy with this bronze. After the Paris Olympics, I had my surgery and took a rest for four-five months. When I started training again, it took me some time to get back to my performance," she said.
The rain never dettered here. "I had run and trained under rain so many times, so it was not new to me, she added.
With this win, Prachi firmly believes that she won't be 'just a relay runner.' "People kept on telling me that I can win medals only in relays. Today (Saturday) I have proved that I can win medal in individual 400m also ,that too in Asian Games.
Her recovery and her improved timings — from a season best of 53.02 to 52.57 — can be credited to JSW's Inspire Institute of Sport and 400m coach Troy Douglas. I worked on that at IIS and the rehab team helped me a lot. I had decided that I wanted to qualify for the Asian Games, and now to actually win a medal here feels really good," she added.