Key Points

The 36-year-old, gold medallist in the 2024 Paris Paralympics, came up with his best (29.71) in his sixth and last attempt and secured the medal on Thursday.

"I am happy with my performance. To be on the podium on your home turf is special. Yes, gold would have been better, but I am still happy," Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) athlete Dharambir, draped in the Indian tri-colour, said.

Dharambir said the championships will go a long way towards ticking many boxes for the country. "We have organised it very well. This event will motivate us more. We are bidding for the Paralympic Games. It is a very good initiative of the government and the federation. We will get a lot of benefits from it."

Amit Saroha, Dharambir's coach, was always sure of a medal. The duo had trained together at SAI Sonepat in the lead-up to the championships. He had hoped Pranav Soorma would win a medal too, but despite achieving his season best (28.19), Soorma couldn't finish in the top-3. In fact, he finished fifth. Saroha would have been a participant too if not for a fracture he suffered weeks before the competition.

The evening events on Thursday were suspended briefly due to rain and lightning, which hampered the bronze medallist at the Kobe World Para Athletics Championships last year. "Yes, because of the rain, the grip became an issue, but I am still happy. We could have won two medals [Pranav could have been the other], but our rivals did very well," he said.

Saroha added, "If you see, most of the athletes got their best scores in their first attempt. Once the club got wet, it was very difficult to grip, and that brought the score down significantly. But we had practised for all kinds of weather, in the sun, in the rain, and that has paid dividends."

Atul Kaushik won the second medal of the day for India when he bagged a bronze in the men's discus throw F57. He threw 45.61 in his fifth attempt, and that fetched him a medal in what was a very competitive event. "I am very happy with my performance. This is the first time I am participating in an event of this magnitude. I am a local lad. I train here at the JNL. I live here too. Yes, rain did hamper me, but then that was the case for everyone," he said.

- IANS