Paralympics 2020: India's Yogesh Kathuniya wins silver in Men's Discus throw F56

It's raining medals for India on Monday morning at the Tokyo Paralympics. India's Yogesh Kathuniya won silver in the men's discus throw (F56) with a best throw of 44.38m. Yogesh threw 44.38 in his sixth and final attempt to take up the top spot before Claudiney Batista of Brazil fired 44.57 in his first attempt to dethrone the Indian athlete.

24-year-old Yogesh Kathuniya ranked World No. 2 in his category, lived up to the billing with a superb showing in the final of the Tokyo Paralympics. Kathuniya was leading the event for the most part of it before Rio Paralympics gold medalist Batista dos Santos stepped up and set a new Paralympics record with a throw of 45.59m. It was enough for the Brazilian to win gold as Kathuniya slipped to the silver medal position.

Brazil's defending champion, reigning world champion, and world record holder Claudiney Batista dos Santos won the gold with a best throw of 45.59m while Leonardo Diaz Aldana (43.36m) of Cuba took the bronze. In the F56 classification, athletes have full arm and trunk muscle power. Pelvic stability is provided by some to full ability to press the knees together. Kathuniya won a bronze medal in the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai with the best throw of 42.51m which also booked him a Tokyo berth.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Yogesh Kathuniya on winning a Silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics and tweeted," Outstanding performance by Yogesh Kathuniya. Delighted that he brings home the Silver medal. His exemplary success will motivate budding athletes. Congrats to him. Wishing him the very best for his future endeavors."

Yogesh Kathuniya, who hails from New Delhi, experienced a paralytic attack that resulted in impaired coordination in his limbs when he was 8. But Kathuniya went on to take up para-athletics and made his international debut as recently as 2018.