India’s Junior Para Athletes clinch medals in Switzerland!

18 year old Rohtak boy Rinku Hooda claimed a silver medal in Javelin Throw F46 at the ongoing 2017 IPC World Para Athletics Junior Championships. The competition, being held for the very first time, is hosting some of the world's best junior para athletes (differently-abled) as they aim to compete for national pride here in Nottwil, Switzerland.

Rinku, a Paralympian from 2016, in July had also represented India at the 2017 IPC World Para Athletics Championships (for the Seniors) in London and secured 4th place with a personal best throw of 55.12 metres. Although Rinku failed to better that mark here in Nottwil, he will have taken immense pride from another commendable performance and adding another international medal to his already growing list of sporting achievements.

Rinku (Centre) celebrating with the Indian Tri-colour after his medal at the World Junior Para Athletics Championships

Rinku has been supported by the GoSports Foundation, a not-for-profit entity working towards supporting Indian athletes competing in Olympic and Paralympic disciplines, since 2016. The Foundation has supported Rinku with his training needs and sporting development, specifically his apparel & gear for competition and training. In addition to this his nutrition and consultation with a physiotherapist has also been taken care of.

Rinku's latest achievement follows that of 17 year old Jayanti Behera's from Orissa, who had earlier bagged silver in 200m and gold in 400m (personal best). Like Rinku, she had also represented India last month at the 2017 IPC World Para Athletics Championships (for Seniors) in London, and is supported by the GoSports Foundation since early 2017. Jayanti bettered her silver medal by defeating the 200m champion in the 400m by a large margin and clocking her personal best timing of 01:01.37. Jayanti was recently selected as a part of the GoSports Foundation's Para Champions programme. The Foundation supported her sporting needs by funding a smart watch which has helped her track her performances on the field.

(Extreme Left) Jayanti with her Silver medal after her 200m event

In addition to this, sprinter Aamit Kumar sprinted to two medals - Gold in the 200m event and Silver in the 400m event. Aamit had impressive timings of 0:23.23 and 0:51.26 in the respective events.

Below is a table of the performances of the Indian medal winners from the Championships (Athletes highlighted in yellow are supported by the GoSports Foundation's Para Champions Programme):

With the performances above, the future surely looks bright for Indian Para sports!