London, Aug 8: India's Vikas Gowda finished eighth in the men's discus throw final at the London Olympics 2012 here on Tuesday. Vikas failed to breach the 65-metre mark in his six attempts and ended eighth. His best in the final was 64.79 metres.

Germany's Robert Harting took the gold medal with a throw of 68.27 metres. Ehsan Hadadi of Iran was the silver medallist with a throw of 68.18 while Gerd Kanter of Estonia was third with a mark of 68.03, which was his season's best.

The six-feet-nine-inch tall Vikas had qualified for the final round with a throw of 65.20. But today, at the Olympic Stadium, he could not match that.

There were 12 athletes in the final. After three throws, only the best eight were eligible for the next set of three throws.

Vikas started off with 64.79 and that remained his best till the end. His sequence of throws was 64.79, 60.95, 63.03, 64.15, 64.48 and 63.89.

The 29-year-old reaching the final was a big moment for Indian athletics. He can be proud of his performance here.

A few days back, Krishna Poonia too had reached the final in women's discus throw but could not win a medal. She finished seventh.

Vikas had failed to qualify for the final in the last Olympics, Beijing 2008. He had managed 60.69 metres in Beijing which was not enough to make the cut. He had finished 22nd in Beijing qualifiers. His personal best is 66.28 metres, which is a national record.

Vikas, who is supported by Olympic Gold Quest, is based in the US and trained at John Godina World Throws Centre in Phoenix, Arizona. He is coached by his father Shive Gowda, who is with him in London.

OneIndia News