Paris Paralympics 2024: Kathuniya reflects on mental toughness after second consecutive Paralympic silver

Yogesh Kathuniya (Pic: @IndiaembFrance/X)

Indian discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya on Wednesday said he needs to work on the mental strength of his game after clinching yet another silver medal at the Paris Paralympics 2024, marking his fifth consecutive second-place finish since the Tokyo Games three years ago.

The 27-year-old from Haryana achieved a season-best throw of 42.22m in the discus throw F-56 on Monday but admitted he has not been at his best mentally.

"I have lacked in mental strength. I will have to build up more, just as it was before, in 2022. Since I got injured, due to cervical, it has come down," Kathuniya told PTI during an interaction.

"If you are mentally fit, you can defeat your opponent easily. If you have a strong mindset, you know that this is not a big deal. You just have to go there and perform. If a person is totally focused mentally, he can do very well in the future." Kathuniya competes from a seated position in F-56, which includes athletes with amputations and spinal cord injuries. He battled through chickenpox early last year and was later diagnosed with cervical radiculopathy, which affected the C4, C5, and C6 vertebrae. Despite these setbacks, he secured a silver medal at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou last year.

"It's okay. I am still young. I can easily play two more Paralympics. I will do better. I will change my style this time. I have a World Championship next year. I will perform well next year," said Kathuniya, who attended the Kirori Mal College in Delhi.

He had picked up silver medals at the 2023 and 2024 World Championships as well as in the Asian Para Games last year.

Kathuniya, who as a nine-year-old had developed Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare autoimmune condition that causes numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness that can progress to paralysis, was wheelchair-bound before his mother learned physiotherapy to help him regain muscle strength to walk again.

His throw at the Paris Paralympics 2024 fell short of his 44.38m effort in Tokyo and his personal best of 48m, which he achieved at the Indian Open, which is not a World Para Athletics event.

"It (the level) has gone down a little. To be honest, if I had won my personal best and taken the silver medal, I swear I would have been very happy. I wouldn't have had any problem. I would have thought that yes, I have performed well," he said.

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"I know the capability that I have. I am not saying this out of overconfidence. But I am not able to do it in Paralympics. If not now, then when? I will have to do it once." Reflecting on his preparations, Kathuniya said he should have participated in more competitions leading up to the Paris Games.

"It was around two years. But I think I made a mistake. I should have played a little more competition. I should have played more events. I was not ready. I played only two events this year. I should not have done that." Despite his recent string of silver medals, Kathuniya remains motivated to achieve more.

"To be honest, my hunger will never end. Even if I hit 50m, my hunger will not end. I want to show the world that it was Yogesh Kathuniya who crossed 50m in a seated throw, the first person in the world." Kathuniya is now set to take a two-month break and is planning his first solo trip to Switzerland.

"I will rest for two months, mainly stay at home. I play a lot of video games. After that, I will start again. I think my mind should be relaxed. And I will have to go away from sports once. So that I can focus more on mental strength.

"I am going to Switzerland day after tomorrow. I am going on a solo trip for the first time. So, I want to see if I can handle it alone or not."

(With agency inputs)