Paris [France], August 3 (ANI): India’s challenge in the men’s shot put at the ongoing Paris Olympics ended after Tajinderpal Singh Toor crashed out of the qualification round.
A two-time Asian Games gold medallist who boasts his prowess in the shot put with a personal best of 21.77m looked off his game.
Often considered the pioneer in shot put, Toor slouched to 15th position in Group A, with 18.05m as his best throw in three attempts.
Toor needed to breach the top 12 to qualify for the final. However, after an 18.05m attempt, followed by two foul throws, Tajinder’s run in the Paris Olympics came to a dreadful end.
After his first throw, Toor took 14th place and stood in contention for featuring in the final. In his second attempt, his throw looked well short, and his throw was deemed invalid after the red flag was raised, indicating a foul attempt.
In his third and final attempt, he needed to go past Portugal’s Tsanko Arnaudov’s throw of 20.09m to breach the qualification mark.
But his third throw was deemed as a foul throw yet again, bringing an end to his run at the Paris Olympics.
Italy’s shotputter Leonardo Fabbri topped Group A with a throw of 21.76m. The second place was occupied by Czech Olympic athlete Tomas Stanek, who covered a distance of 21.61m.
Toor, who was born and raised in Punjab’s Khosa Pando village, has numerous accolades to his name. In the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships, Toor bagged silver. In the 2018 Asian Games, he returned to India with a gold medal.
In the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships, 2023 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, 2023 Asian Athletics Championships and 2023 Asian Games, Toor stood at the top of the podium with a gold medal around his neck.
During his career, with a throw of 21.49m, he broke the 12-year-old Asian record of 21.13m. The record that he toppled was set by Saudi Arabia’s Sultan Abdulmajeed Al-Hebshi.
Toor held the record until June 2024. His attempt was eventually eclipsed by Saudi Arabia’s shotputter Mohamed Daouda Tolo in an athletics meet in Madrid. (ANI)
