A dominant double podium embellished India’s record-breaking Paris Paralympics campaign as Dharambir won gold and Pranav Soorma the silver medal in the men’s club throw F51.
Interestingly, this was a reverse of the podium at last year’s Para Asian Games, where Pranav won gold and Dharambir the silver.
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Their two medal-winning throws in Paris couldn’t have come in more contrasting manners. The 35-year-old Dharambir’s gold came after a gritty comeback while Pranav, 29, won silver with his very first throw of the night. Serbia’s Zeljko Dimitrijevic – an all-time great in the event – won bronze.
The men’s club throw F51 is one of the categories for para-athletes who compete in throwing events while seated. Visualise the scene – all the competitors on wheelchairs, needing assistance to sit and on and be strapped to the throwing chair before they can start. These athletes already have tremendous mental strength, and they are pushing their physical limits, hurling the club held between their middle and ring fingers, relying on just those massively powerful arms to propel it.
This mental strength shone through the brightest in Dharambir’s gold-winning performance: Opening the proceedings in the final, he endured, to put it politely, a disastrous start. His first four throws were all fouls, as the club fell either into the netting surrounding the throwing chair or out of bounds. It was all going downhill very fast for the veteran who made his Paralympic debut at Rio 2016.
But just when it looked like he was done for, Dharambir dug into his reserves of resilience – the ones that helped him become a successful para-athlete after a diving accident left his paralysed from the waist down – and found the best throw of the night.
His fifth attempt was finally a fair throw and the distance of 34.92m was a great one too, cracking an Asian record. This was already a terrific comeback, regrouping mentally within minutes after that terrible start. That it was a throw no one could match throughout the next three hours of the competition is incredible. Exactly 10 years after he discovered para sports, mentored by veteran Amit Kumar Saroha – who finished tenth on the night – he was now the Paralympic champion.
The 35-year-old from Sonipat, Haryana had to wait as nine other competitors would go and attempt their six throws. It took almost two hours and as the camera kept coming back to him, a pleased smile never left his face. He had won an Asiad silver and a Worlds bronze before this, but a Paralympic gold medal – won in such a cinematic manner – is the biggest achievement there is.
A big threat to Dharambir’s throw was Dimitrijevic — who has won two gold and one silver medal at the last three Paralympics. The 53-year-old veteran had the highest personal best in the field, but on this night, he couldn’t cross 34.18m, still good enough for his fourth straight Paralympic medal. The camera panned to the Indian right after the Serbian finished his attempts, and he wore a wider smile than ever as he raised his hands in triumph. He knew he had already done something remarkable here.
Pranav came on after the Serbian and did the exact opposite of his compatriot – his first throw flying 34.59m, a distance that would win him silver on Paralympic debut. His process of throwing, ending with a loud roar as he released the club, produced the most consistent distances in the field.
The second was also a solid 34.19m and after a foul, the fourth went 34.50m. Yet the 29-year-old didn’t look too happy with these big throws, because they were not what he came for, they would not get him gold. The silver is to be treasured, though.
He had been only 16 when a cement sheet falling on his head caused a spinal cord injury that paralyzed him. At an age where he was looking forward to being out of school and living his life, he had to adjust being in a wheelchair for the rest of it. But he made the best of it.
He competed in para sports, participated in Mr. Wheelchair India, all the while excelling in academics. Consider this: he scored 91.2% in his 12th board exams, did his post-graduation at the Delhi School of Economics and got a job as an Assistant Manager at the Bank of Baroda. A true all-rounder.
Amid this all though, his sports career kept growing with his father Sanjeev quitting his job to escort him. His big medal before this was the Para Asiad gold last year and he finished a heart-breaking fourth at the World Championships. Pranav now has a silver medal at the Paralympics — and if Dimitrijevic’s and Amit Saroha’s longevity is anything to go by — a long career ahead of him.