Silver lining for shot-putter Sachin, India's medal haul hits 21

World champion shotputter Sachin Sarjerao Khilari smashed the Asian record en route a silver on Wednesday as Indias trackandfield athletes continued to surpass expectations in what is turning out to be the countrys best ever performance at the Paris Paralympics 2024The 34yearold Khilari pulled off 1632m throw in his second attempt of the F46 category final to better his own Asian record of 1630m which he set in May while winning gold in the World ParaAthletics Championships in JapanHis silver on Wednesday was medal number 21 for the nation which is currently placed 19th in the overall standings with three gold eight silver and 10 bronze medalsGreg Stewart of Canada defended his Tokyo Paralympics gold with a throw of 1638m while Luka Bakovic of Croatia took the bronze with 1627mKhilaris Paris Paralympics 2024 silver was also Indias 11th medal from trackandfield the Tokyo haul of one gold five silver and two bronze medals long surpassedLate on Tuesday night Indians won silver and bronze in both mens high jump T63 and javelin throw F46 after Deepthi Jeevanjis bronze in the womens 400m T20 category in Indias best day at the GamesAlso ReadKathuniya reflects on mental toughness after 2nd consecutive Paralympic silverSharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu won silver and bronze respectively in the mens high jump T63 while Ajeet Singh and Sundar Singh Gurjar took the second and third sports in the javelin throw F46 finalF46 classification is for athletes with arm deficiency impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement in arms with athletes competing in a standing positionHailing from a farming family at Karagani village in Maharashtras Sangli district Khilari met with an accident during his childhood The injury resulted in gangrene of the skin on his elbow and muscle atrophy Even after several surgeries his arm never recovered He also lost his mother when he was youngI had wanted to win the gold medal but it did not happen Its my best distance but I am not satisfied I feel I could have done better It was not my day Khilari said about his performance on WednesdayHarvinder enters quarters in archery Tokyo Games bronzewinner Harvinder Singh secured backtoback wins to reach quarterfinals in his bid for a second successive Paralympics medal in archeryHarvinder knocked out Tseng LungHui of Chinese Taipei 73 before overcoming an opening set deficit to edge out Setiawan Setiawan of Indonesia 62 in the last16 roundTokyo silvermedallist Bhavina oustedIndias challenge in the womens singles table tennis competition after Tokyo editions silvermedallist Bhavinaben Patel lost to Chinas Ying Zhou 31 in the class 4 quarterfinalBhavinaben who became Indias firstever medal winner in the sport with her silver in the Tokyo Paralympics fought hard in the first two games and even won the third but eventually lost to her Chinese rival 1214 911 118 611Earlier the other womens singles player in class 3 Sonalben Patel lost to Croatias Andela Muzinic Vincetic in the round of 16Bhavinaben was diagnosed with polio when she was one year oldShe competes in class 4 which is meant for wheelchairbound athletes with functional arms and handsNo medals in shootingIn Chateauroux Indian shooters Nihal Singh and Rudransh Khandelwal failed to make the final of mixed 50m pistol SH1 competitionNihal the 2023 world championship bronze medallist finished 19th He had an aggregate score of 522 across six seriesCompeting in his maiden Paralympics 17yearold Rudransh who lost his left leg in a freak mishap when he was just eightyearsold scored 517 to sign off in the 22nd spot in the qualification roundWith agency inputs