Asian Para Games:<\/b> Indian javelin thrower Rinku Hooda clinched the men\u2019s F46 gold medal at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya on Monday, producing a final-attempt throw of 65.11m to beat compatriot Ajeet Singh by nine centimetres.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 27-year-old from Dhamar, Haryana, secured the title despite battling a shoulder injury during preparations and struggling emotionally following his mother\u2019s death on August 8. Speaking after his victory, Hooda revealed the extent of his grief, the challenges of returning to training, and his determination to remain competitive. \u201cThere has never been a day when I haven\u2019t cried. From morning to evening. Every time, I cry once or twice a day. I miss her. But I never thought that this would happen to me,\u201d Hooda told IANS in an exclusive interaction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Hooda said the loss had affected him deeply, making it difficult to concentrate on training even as he continued competing and winning medals.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t train, to be honest. I am telling the truth. You can say anything from the outside. But as long as you are a bit of a family man, you don\u2019t say that whatever has happened is fine. But still, the heart doesn\u2019t agree from the inside. I still win medals. I don\u2019t feel that I have won a medal. I have been like this from the inside since my mother passed away. There has never been a day when I haven\u2019t cried. From morning to evening. Every time, I cry once or twice a day. I miss her. But I never thought that this would happen to me,\u201d he expressed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Recalling the circumstances surrounding his mother\u2019s death, Hooda described a moment that continues to haunt him. He said his mother had been resting with her head on his hand before he left briefly to undergo a doping test.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cEveryone has to go one day. I also have to go one day. Everyone has to. But it just feels like when it\u2019s time to see the happiness, then that person leaves you. The day my mother passed away, she was sleeping on my hand till 3:10 pm. When I went to sleep, my brother Anuj came. He told me to go to sleep and said he\u2019ll take care of her. My mother\u2019s oxygen was continuously on. As soon as I fell asleep, the doping team came to take my test. I told my mother that I would be back in 10 minutes after giving the sample. I went to the adjacent house, our second house. I\u2019ll remember those 10 minutes throughout my life; the shock that I felt, I still feel that shock,\u201d an emotional Hooda, still in grief, said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Hooda resumed training on August 19 but found it difficult to return to his routine. His father encouraged him to continue working towards his sporting ambitions, although a subsequent shoulder injury created another obstacle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI have been going through a disturbance for the last two and a half months. Since August 8. When I started training, I didn\u2019t feel like training. My father told me that it doesn\u2019t matter. Whatever happened, happened. But you should focus on yourself. If you don\u2019t pay attention, your mother\u2019s soul will not rest in peace. So I started looking at the same thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cAs soon as I started, I had a pain in my shoulder in the next session. So I did an MRI. In that MRI, I found out that it was a Grade 1 tear. We still had a lot of time to rehab it. So my doctor, Swapnil, Lakshya, my strength and condition coach, and I all met and talked for two or three hours. We discussed what to do next. We also missed four or five sessions. And the day we started, we started with taping. And I did the taping yesterday as well. Because we couldn\u2019t take the risk,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The injury required him to modify his preparation, with the athlete and his support team carefully managing his workload before travelling for the competition. Hooda explained that his throws had remained consistent before the injury, but the shoulder discomfort made a return to his previous distances uncertain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBefore the injury, we had a session before my mother\u2019s death on August 8. We had a session after that. We had a session for 62, 61, just like normal. So, after that, when there was pain in the shoulder, we didn\u2019t think that the throw would reach 64 or 65. But we missed the session. We missed three or four sessions. My shoulder was tapped before the session, and we practised. We had a session on the 9th, on Friday, before the Asian Games. So, we had an all-out throw session on our ground and had a session of 61, 62 metres,\u201d Hooda said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his fitness, Hooda entered the competition determined to give himself the best possible chance of winning. His team had planned to secure a strong mark early because they were unsure how his shoulder would hold up across all six attempts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI wanted to take my bets out on the first throw itself. My injury was completely cured, so I wanted to get my best throws in the initial two attempts. We had made a plan beforehand. That if we do it, we will do it in the first or second throw because we didn\u2019t know whether we\u2019d manage to get to the sixth attempt or not. So this was the plan. But I didn\u2019t talk to Ajeet much before the throws. We were on the ground, we greeted each other and said, let\u2019s do it,\u201d Hooda recalled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The contest ultimately came down to the final round. Ajeet registered 65.02m in his fourth attempt, leaving Hooda needing a bigger throw to move into the lead. The Haryana athlete responded with 65.11m on his last attempt, taking the gold in a competition where Indonesia's R.Saktyono finished third with 55.30m.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Hooda said he never abandoned the belief that he could win, pointing to a pattern of producing his best throws late in major competitions. <\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cNo, I didn\u2019t lose that hope. I never lose hope. I never lose hope. I always try to put all my energy into the last throw. I did the same thing in the last Asian Games. In the 2022 Asian Games, I threw the last throw of 67 metres. And the same thing happened in the World Championships in Paris. So, I don\u2019t know whether it\u2019s my body that takes time to warm up or what it is, but my best throws come on the last attempt in most of the competitions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Beyond his own performance, Hooda highlighted the need for more financial and institutional assistance for younger athletes entering para-sports. While acknowledging the support available to established competitors, he said newcomers needed greater backing to build sustainable careers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThe senior players have sponsorships and jobs. There is a backup in every way. But the junior players who are playing for the first time, they need more support. They need more sponsorships and help from TOPS. The federation is always backing them; there\u2019s no doubt about it. But our new junior players should be supported more.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Hooda plans to take a break of one or two months before resuming his preparations. Although he has not set an immediate performance target following his Asian Para Games triumph, he remains focused on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic cycle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThe senior players have sponsorships and jobs. There is a backup in every way. But the junior players who are playing for the first time, they need more support. They need more sponsorships and help from TOPS. The federation is always backing them; there\u2019s no doubt about it. But our new junior players should be supported more.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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