Tokyo Paralympics: Vinod Kumar loses men’s F52 discus throw bronze after Technical Delegates decide that he is ‘ineligible’
The Indian had set a new Asian Record with an attempt of 19.91 in the final to win the bronze medal. But the organisers put the result under review later in the day after there was a protest.
New: Discus thrower Vinod Kumar has lost his medal after the classification panel was unable to allocate the Indian athlete with a sport class on Monday. He is therefore ineligible for the Men’s F52 Discus medal event meaning his bronze on Sunday will not count.
This decision came after Vinod Kumar’s classification evaluation on Monday. The Indian had set a new Asian Record with an attempt of 19.91 in the final to win the bronze medal. But the organisers put the result under review later in the day after there was a protest.
“Following classification Observation Assessment in competition and subsequent re-assessment by the classification panel, the panel was unable to allocate the athlete Vinod Kumar from NPC India with a sport class and the athlete was designated as Classification not Completed (CNC),” an official statement by organising committee read.
“The athlete is therefore ineligible for the Men’s F52 Discus medal event and his results in that competition are void,” the statement added.
On Sunday, Vinod Kumar registered throws of 17.46m, 18.32m, 17.80m, 19.12m, 19.91m, and 19.81m in his six attempts. Poland’s Piotr Kosewicz won a gold medal as he registered the best throw of 20.02m in the second attempt while the silver was won by Croatia’s Velimir Sandor (19.98m).
Meanwhile, the medal Ceremony was postponed to the evening session of Monday at 21:57 (JST).