India’s Vinod Kumar onAugust 29 bagged the bronze medal in men’s discus throw F52 event in the2020 Tokyo Paralympics, adding a third medal to the country's tally. VinodKumar, too, set an Asian record with a throw of 19.91m.
Poland's Piotr Kosewiczbagged the gold with a throw of 20.02m while Croatian athlete Velimir Šandortook home silver by registering the best effort of 19.98m
Earlier, Bhavina Pateland Nishad Kumar won silver medals in Table tennis and men's T47 High jump,respectively.
PrimeMinister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to congratulate him saying, Indiais rejoicing thanks to Vinod Kumar’s stupendous performance! Congratulations tohim for the Bronze Medal. His hard work and determination is yieldingoutstanding results."
The41-year-old BSF man, whose father fought in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, produced the best throw of 19.91m to finish third behind Piotr Kosewicz (20.02m) of Polandand Velimir Sandor (19.98m) of Croatia.
Heinjured his legs while training after joining the BSF, falling off a cliff inLeh that left him bed-ridden for close to a decade during which he lost bothhis parents.
TheF52 classification is for athletes with impaired muscle power, restricted rangeof movement, limb deficiency or leg length difference, with athletes competingin the seated positions. It also applies to cervical cord injury, spinal cordinjury, amputation, and functional disorder.