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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) athlete Dharambir, draped in the Indian tri-colour, said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Dharambir said the championships will go a long way towards ticking many boxes for the country. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Amit Saroha, Dharambir\u2019s 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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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. \u201cYes, 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Amit Saroha, Dharambir\u2019s 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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Atul Kaushik won the second medal of the day for India when he bagged a bronze in the men\u2019s discus throw F57. He threw 45.61 in his fifth attempt, and that fetched him a medal in what was a very competitive event. \u201cI 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n