World Para Athletics C'ships: India's medal tally reaches 7 with another one-two finish in men's javelin F44

New Delhi [India], September 30 (ANI): In another great day for Indian para-athletes, Sandip Sargar and Sandeep Chaudhary secured the gold and silver in the men's javelin F44 event at the ongoing World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi on Tuesday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
As per ESPN, both Indian stars secured their best attempts on the fifth throw, with Sandip registering 62.82 m and Sandeep getting a throw of 62.67 m. The bronze medal went to Brazil's Edenilson with a best throw of 61.94 m.
Two other Indians in the event, Pushpendra Singh (4th spot with 61.31 m) and Mahendra Gurjar (7th spot with best throw of 57.84 m), missed out on the podium.
This takes India's medal count at the event to seven, with three gold medals, three silvers and a bronze medal.
Earlier, India secured their first double podium at the marquee event with Rinku Hooda and Sundar Singh Gurjar earning their gold and silver medals in the men's javelin F46 event on Monday.
As per ESPN, Rinku and Gurjar had a see-saw battle right from the start, and it was Rinku's fourth attempt of 66.37 m, which landed him the gold and also broke the Championship record. Gurjar was at second with his best throw of 64.76 m, being his fifth one.
Ajeet Singh, India's Paris Paralympics 2024 silver medalist, narrowly fell short of a bronze medal and an Indian clean sweep at the podium as the Paralympic and defending world champion, Guillermo Varona Gonzalez of Cuba, took home the bronze with a throw of 63.34 m, as compared to Ajeet's best throw of 61.77 m.
Two days back, it was para high-jumper Shailesh Kumar who secured the country's first gold medal in the T63 high jump competition.
Shailesh secured the best jump of 1.91 m, securing not only the gold medal but also setting a championship record, as per ESPN.
The podium was completed by the USA's Paralympic champion Ezra Frech (1.85 m). India's Varun Singh Bhatti jumped 1.85 m as well and got the bronze medal.
Another Indian participant, Rahul, finished fourth, achieving the best jump of 1.78 m. India's Paralympic bronze medalist from last year and world champion from the 2024 Kobe World Championships, Deepthi Jeevanji, failed to defend her title in the women's 400m T20 category, finishing with a silver medal in 55.16 seconds.
Deepthi qualified for the medal round in first place in the second heat. She took 58.35 seconds, which was her season's best performance at that time.
The New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships, which commenced on September 27, will continue till October 5. It has brought together more than 2,200 para-athletes from 104 countries at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Featuring 186 medal events, it is the largest Para-Athletics meet hosted by India and serves as a key qualifier for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics, showcasing India's commitment to accessibility and sporting excellence. Before this edition, India had won a total of 45 medals at World Para Athletics Championships, including 13 gold, 15 silver and 17 bronze medals. During the last edition at Kobe last year, India secured a sixth-place finish with 17 medals, including six gold, five silver and six bronze. (ANI)