Tokyo Paralympics: Vinod Kumar's Bronze in men's Discus Throw put on hold due to a Disability Classification

Indian Paralympic athlete Vinod Kumar fetched a bronze in the F52 men’s discus throw with an Asian record, earning India its third medal at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo on Sunday.

However, due to the classification observation in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, the F52 men’s discus final results are under review, and the victory ceremony has been postponed to Monday.

Vinod Kumar - Remember the name

It's a #Bronze for #IND as his best throw of 19.91m in the Men's Discus Throw F52 final earns the nation their THIRD medal of the day.

P.S - He also set a new Asian record! #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics #ParaAthletics pic.twitter.com/jv92vZgBDQ

— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) August 29, 2021

Vinod Kumar, a 41-year-old BSF man whose father fought in the Indo-Pak war in 1971, showed the best result of 19.91m and finished third behind Piotr Kosewicz (20.02m) of Poland and Velimir Sandor (19.98m) of Croatia.

This means that the bronze of the discus thrower Vinod Kumar has also been put on hold following a protest against his disability classification.

“Results of this event are currently under review due to classification observation in competition. The Victory Ceremony has been postponed to the evening session of August 30,” a statement from the Tokyo Paralympics organisers.

Disability Classification Still Unclear

According to the PTI news agency, it is unclear why this classification is being questioned. The organisers completed the classification of Vinod in F52 on August 22.

After joining the BSF, he injured his leg during training and fell off the cliff of Leh, leaving him bed-ridden for nearly ten years, during which he lost his parents.

The F52 classification is suitable for athletes with impaired muscle power, restricted range of movement, limb deficiency or leg length differences while the athletes compete in a seated position.

This also applies to cervical and spinal cord injuries, amputations and functional disorders.

Indian Chef de Mission Gursharan Singh told PTI that the bronze medal of Vinod still stands.

“There was a protest from one country or maybe more than one, we don’t know as it can’t be revealed, that there could be issues on the classification done on Vinod before the start of Paralympics,” Singh told PTI.

“Vinod’s result, that is his bronze, still stands, and a decision is unlikely to come today as it is very late now. It’s expected tomorrow,” Singh added.