Dinesh Priyantha wins historic Paralympic Gold for Sri Lanka

Dinesh Priyantha Herath created history when he claimed Sri Lanka’s first-ever Gold Medal in the Paralympic history with a record breaking performance at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan yesterday.

The 35-year-old powered his way to win the Gold when he threw 67.79m in his third attempt in the javelin throw event which broke a previous world record set by India’s Devendra.

Herath cleared 62.58m in his first attempt and 62.19m in his second attempt. He cleared 62.06m in his fourth attempt and 63.97 in his sixth attempt while competing in the F46 event.

Meanwhile, reigning Rio 2016 champion Devendra claimed Silver after making a best throw of 64.35m while Gurjar Singh took the Bronze Medal with a performance of 64.01m.

Priyantha was serving in the army until a gunshot wound in his left arm derailed his army career. He stayed in the hospital for more than four years but took up sports when he recovered.

His decision to take up athletics was not in vain as yesterday he stood on that track as a champion and a true Olympian.

Earlier, at the 2016 Rio Games, Herath secured a Bronze Medal in the Men’s javelin throw and also bagged a Silver Medal in 2019 at the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Dinesh Herath in action

Dinesh Herath with the Gold Medal

 

by Daily News Sri Lanka

, Sports, dinesh,gold,historic,lanka,paralympic,priyantha,wins,

Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post