Neeraj Chopra has praised javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia for bagging a silver medal in the ongoing Paralympic Games on Monday. The Olympic gold medallist took to Twitter to congratulate Jhajharia and Sundar Singh Gurjar on ensuring a podium finish for Indian in the men's F46 event.
"Devendra bhai sahab: you are such an inspiration to all of us Congratulations on your 3rd #Paralympics medal! Many congratulations to Sundar bhai also for winning a bronze," he tweeted.
Jhajharia, who lost his left hand after accidentally touching an electric wire while climbing a tree at the age of eight, bettered his own earlier world record (63.97m) but gold winner Sri Lankan Dinesh Priyan Herath Mudiyanselage (67.79m), who set a new world record, was too good for the entire field. "In sport and competition, these kind of things happen. There are always ups and downs. I did my best and bettered my personal best. But it so happened that it was his (Sri Lankan's) day," Jhajharia told PTI after winning silver.
The 25-year-old Gurjar, who lost his left hand in 2015 after a metal sheet fell on him at his friend's house, was third with a best effort of 64.01m.
Born to a farmer father at Karauli village in Rajasthan, Gurjar had won gold in 2017 and 2019 World Para Athletics Championships. He had also won a silver in the 2018 Jakarta Para Asian Games. He currently trains at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Gurjar would often run away from school as he was less interested in studies. When he failed his Class 10 examination, his school teacher suggested him to take up sports.
Gurjar left home for Jaipur where got admitted to a sports hostel after a selection trial.
(With PTI inputs)
