Tokyo 2020, athletics: Vinod Kumar declared ineligible for discus throw F52 bronze medal

India’s Vinod Kumar was on Monday declared ineligible for the F52 discus throw bronze medal at Tokyo Paralympics after disability classification assessment by the organisers.

Vinod finished with the third best mark on Sunday in his event, which was an area record, but the result was put on hold after a protest over his disability classification. It had somewhat marred the upbeat mood in the Indian camp.

The 41-year-old produced a best throw of 19.91m to finish third behind Piotr Kosewicz (20.02m) of Poland and Velimir Sandor (19.98m) of Croatia on Sunday.

Statement from Technical Delegates

Following classification Observation Assessment in competition and subsequent re-assessment by the classification panel, the panel was unable to allocate the athlete Vinod Kumar from NPC India with a sport class and the athlete was designated as Classification not Completed (CNC). The athlete is therefore ineligible for the Men’s F52 Discus medal event and his results in that competition are void.

Para-athletes are classified depending on the type and extent of their disability. The classification system allows athletes to compete those with a similar level of ability. Vinod’s classification was done on August 22, reported PTI.

About the sports classification: In the 50s sport classes, all athletes compete in a seated position, either…

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