Shotputter Sachin Khilari bagged India’s 16th gold medal at the Para Asian Games on Thursday, 26th October 2023. The Asian record holder set a new Games record with a best throw of 16.03m in the F46 event to finish on top of the podium.
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While Sachin bagged the gold, it was a double podium finish for India in the event. Rohit Kumar finished third and won the bronze medal with a best throw of 14.56m. Meanwhile, China’s Enlong Wei settled for silver with his seasob best throw of 14.93m.
Sachin Khilari’s road to the gold medal
The Indian started off with a sub-par 13.42m throw in his first attempt. He was fourth among the five competitors after the end of the first attempt. However he soon got to the top of the standings with a 15.11m throw in his second attempt.
It was enough for him to stay in the first place. But he went on to register the 16.03m throw thereby breaking the Asian Games record set in 2018 by China’s Enlong Wei, who recorded a 15.67m throw in the 2018 edition of the Para Asian Games.
Earlier this year, Sachin Khilari set a new Asian Record with his best throw of 16.21m. With that, he also qualified for next year’s Paris Paralympics.