Asian Games star Pranav Soorma corners Khelo India Para Games spotlight with record throw

Soorma betters Asian Games mark to win club throw gold as shooting medal rounds begin

Khel Today Bureau 

New Delhi: Pranav Soorma of Haryana bettered his Asia Para Games mark to clinch gold in F51 category men’s club throw for F51 category. In what was a Khelo India Para Games 2023 highlight on Wednesday, the Haryana athlete threw a distance of 33.54 metres at the JLN Stadium. In Hangzhou, Soorma won the gold with an effort of 30.01 metres. India’s Dharambir had so far held the Asian record of 31.09 metres.

Pranav Soorma’s journey into para sports is remarkable testimony to his incredible determination and resilience. At the age of 16, he endured a life-altering accident that left him with a spinal cord injury and paralysis. In 2018, he made a courageous choice to pursue a career in sports.

In the same event where Soorma won gold, Ram Ratan Singh of Uttar Pradesh won a Silver with a throw of 25.43m and the bronze medal went to Tamil Nadu’s Alexander M who threw a distance of 25.28m.

The medal rounds in shooting got under way at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. Seasoned star Vijay Singh Kuntal, representing Rajasthan in the SH2 category, won the 10m air rifle gold with an aggregate score of 618.3.

Vijay, who has won medals for the Border Security Force in Para Nationals before, was followed by Telangana’s Satya Janaradhana Sridhar Rayala (silver with a score of 607.5 and Dalbir Singh of Punjab (bronze with 604.3).

Three more golds were decided on Wednesday.

In 10m Air Rifle Standing Women SH-1, Rajasthan’s Mona Agarwal claimed the Gold medal with a total score of 619.7, while Haryana’s Simran Sharma finished with a Silver medal with 606.5 points. Aakansha, who hails from Uttar Pradesh claimed the Bronze medal with 604.6 points.

In the 10M air rifle for SH1 category, Swaroop Unhalkar of Maharashtra came out tops with a score of 243.8 Deepak Saini of Haryana was a proud winner of silver as he scored 242.9 while Ishank Ahuja, also from Haryana, won bronze.

In Women’s 10m Air Pistol Standing SH-1, Madhya Pradesh’s Rubina Francis picked up the Gold medal with a total score of 233.1, while Uttar Pradesh’s Sumedha Pathak scored a total of 229.2 to win the Silver medal. Delhi’s Bhakti Sharma won the Bronze medal.

In the Para powerlifting 61kg elite category, Seema Rani of Punjab won gold with a lift of 88kg. Zainab Khatoon of UP (80 kg) and M. Nathiya of Tamil Nadu (72kg) won silver and bronze, respectively.

In the elite 59kg section, Gadadhar Sahu of Odisha came up with a power-packed show, winning the gold with a total lift of 140 kgs. Joby Mathew of Kerala (137 kg) won silver, and Gulfam Ahmed of Delhi won bronze with a lift of 134kg.

The elite 55kg section saw Suman Devi of Haryana showcase her talent with composure as she came up with a best effort of 87kg. Her performance was top class in this section, with Raj Kumari of Delhi winning silver (70kg) and Gomathi from Tamil Nadu winning bronze (66kg).