Hangzhou: Tajinderpal Singh Toor secured the gold medal in the mens shot-put event at the Hangzhou Asian Games, marking Indias second track and field gold in the competition.
Toor, who also clinched gold in Jakarta in 2018, joins the ranks of distinguished Indian shot putters to successfully defend their title at the Asian Games.
This achievement puts him in the esteemed company of Parduman Singh Brar (1954 and 1958), Joginder Singh (1966 and 1970), and Bahadur Singh Chouhan (1978 and 1982).
Toor kicked off with a massive first throw that approached the 20m mark, but unfortunately, it was deemed a foul.
Its raining?for Athletics at #AsianGames2022 @Tajinder_Singh3 produced a throw of 20.36 in Mens Shotput Final to give the 2?nd athletics?of the day!
Heartiest Congratulations champ???#Cheer4India ??#HallaBol#JeetegaBharat#BharatAtAG22 pic.twitter.com/oOxVuJecPh
SAI Media (@Media_SAI) October 1, 2023
His second attempt was also disqualified. It wasnt until his third try that Toor successfully landed a legal throw, marking a distance of 19.51m. By this point, Saudi Arabias Mohamed Daouda Tolo was leading with a best throw of 19.93m.
In the fourth attempt, Toor unleashed a tremendous throw of 20.06m, propelling him into the gold medal position. However, Tolo responded with a 20.18m throw, reclaiming the lead.
Although Toor had a misstep in his fifth throw, he saved his best for last, achieving a massive 20.36m distance on his sixth and final attempt. Tolo couldnt surpass Toors impressive throw and settled for silver.
At 28 years old, Toor was a favourite to defend the gold medal he secured in 2018.
He holds the distinction of being the sole Asian record holder in individual events. One concern is Toors susceptibility to injuries in recent years.
Indian athletes have secured the mens shot put gold nine times in the Asian Games.
