India’s junior para-athletes put in an impressive showing at the ongoing World Para Athletics Junior Championships with two gold and three silver medals so far.
Rinku Hooda won a silver medal in the javelin throw F46 at the first World Para Athletics Junior Championships in Nottwil, Switzerland on Monday. The 18-year-old from Rohtak, Haryana threw a distance of 54.92 to make the podium.
Hooda, a Paralympian from 2016, had also participated in the IPC World Para Athletics Championships (for seniors) in London last month and had secured fourth place with a personal best throw of 55.12 metres. He had finished fifth at the Rio Paralympic Games last year.
Another Indian, 17-year-old Jayanti Behera from Orissa, had earlier bagged a gold medal in the 400 metres as well as a silver in the 200, clocking a time of 28.04. She bettered her silver medal by defeating the 200 metres champion, Chile’s Cerna Amanda in the 400 race, with her personal best timing of 1:01.37 minutes.
Rinku and Jayanti are both supported by the GoSports foundation.
Meanwhile, sprinter Aamit Kumar clinched two medals – gold in the 200 and silver in the 400 event, with impressive timings of 23.23 and 51.26 seconds respectively.