Sagar thayat

Dubai Para Athletics Grand Prix: Discus thrower Sagar Thayat started as an able-bodied athlete, but an accident in 2012 left both his ankles seriously damaged and turned his life upside down. Para Discus thrower Thayat will be representing India in the F43/44 categories at the Commonwealth Games 2026, which will be played in Glasgow, Scotland, from Thursday till August 2.

"I was in Dehradun Sports College, adjoining the Army firing ranges, and someone by mistake threw a mortar in the hostel. After that, I was in hospital for two and a half years. I had to undergo more than 20 surgeries during that time; I had to drop out of school and rejoined school in 2015. After that, my recovery took 5-6 years," the 26-year-old recalled the ordeal he went through due to the freak accident in an interaction with SAI Media.

Sagar, who hails from Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, spoke about how he was inspired to take up para-athletics after reading about Devendra Jhajharia, the first Indian to win two gold medals at the Paralympics.