New Delhi, September 29 (HS): Denis Gnezdilov stole the show at the Para Athletics World Championships on Monday, breaking the men’s F40 shot put world record twice on his way to gold at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. After opening with a 10.66m throw, each of his five subsequent attempts was good enough to secure the top spot.
The 38-year-old Rustavi-born athlete eclipsed Paralympic champion Miguel Monteiro’s record with his third throw of 11.85m before bettering his own mark in the final attempt with an incredible 11.92m. The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic gold medallist clinched his third world title, etching his name firmly in the sport’s history.
The final lived up to expectations with Monteiro (Portugal), former world champion Garrah Tanayash (Iraq), and Germany’s Yannis Fischer in contention. Monteiro led after the first round with 10.92m, but Gnezdilov surged ahead in the second with 11.59m and never relinquished control, sealing his dominance with two consecutive world records.
Among Indian athletes, Dayawanti delivered the most notable performance. In the women’s F64 discus throw final, she set a new Asian record with a 27.94m effort on her last attempt, finishing fourth—just 1.51m short of the bronze won by Alicia Guerrero of the USA.Ayush Verma placed fifth in the men’s F5 shot put final with 7.23m, narrowly missing out on a podium finish by 97cm behind Czech athlete Ales Kisi, who claimed bronze.
Veteran thrower Rongali Ravi registered his season’s best of 10.10m in the F40 shot put final but fell 76cm short of a medal.
Two more championship records fell on Monday morning. Poland’s Bartosz Gorzak reset the men’s F53 shot put meet record with 8.67m, while Mexico’s Osiris Aneth Machado won gold in the women’s F44 discus with 44.36m, setting a new championship mark.Poland secured further glory through Faustyna Kotlowska, who claimed gold in the women’s F64 discus. With two titles on Day 3, Poland climbed to the top of the medal table with four gold and four bronze medals, overtaking Brazil (3 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze) and China (3 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze). India currently stands 13th with 1 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze.
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
