Asian Games 2023: Tajinderpal Singh Toor wins shotput gold, becomes fourth Indian to top Asiad podium twice

Add as a preferred source on Google

Asian Games 2023 Athletics: India's defending shot put champion Tajinderpal Singh Toor on Sunday (October 1) continued his domination in Asia as he returned with a gold medal in the ongoing Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou.

Toor - who touched the gold medal-winning distance on his final attempt - marks India's second gold in track and field in the ongoing Asian Games. He bagged the yellow metal with a throw of 20.36m and overtook Saudi Arabia's Mohamed Daouda Tolo, who settled for silver at 20.18m.

Toor's gold came minutes after Avinash Sable's gold medal in 3000m steeplechase and with that India's gold count climbed to 13. It was also the second gold for the country in the track and field event.

Toor had already won gold in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, making him the fourth Indian shot putter to defend his Asian Games gold after Parduman Singh Brar (1954 and 1958), Joginder Singh (1966 and 1970), and Bahadur Singh Chouhan (1978 and 1982).

Toor, the 28-year-old athlete, fumbled initially but eventually managed to outperform his competitors. His first legal throw was recorded at 19.51m in his third attempt. With Saudi Arabia's Tolo leading with a throw of 19.93m, Toor retaliated with a massive 20.06m throw in his fourth attempt, putting him in the gold medal position. However, after Tolo reclaimed the lead with a 20.18m throw, Toor made a final throw of 20.36m in his sixth attempt, securing the gold medal.

More to follow...