New Delhi: Indian discus thrower Vinod Kumar on Monday lost his F52 category bronze medal at the Tokyo Paralympics after being found ineligible in disability classification assessment by the competition panel.
“Bronze medal Mr Vinod Kumar in F52 category sitting discus has been cancelled. This has been confirmed by Chef de Mission Mr. Gursharan Singh. Though before the events the players were classified by the IPC officials themselves, but during the competition it was found faulty. A detailed report is awaited,” the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) informed.
The 41-year-old BSF man produced a best throw of 19.91m to finish third behind Piotr Kosewicz (20.02m) of Poland and Velimir Sandor (19.98m) of Croatia on Sunday.
However, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and Tokyo 2020 organising committee posted a notification on their websites on Monday morning informing that the results in men’s Discus Throw – F52 are under review.
The classification system for para-sport is quite controversial with a large number of categories for sportspersons with unique impairments. There are 10 impairment groups in the Paralympics: eight involve physical impairments, and the other groupings are for visual and intellectual impairments.
(IANS)