Tokyo Paralympics: Vinod Kumar's bronze medal on hold after protest

Earlier in the day, India paddler Bhavina Patel and track and field athlete Nishad Kumar clinched silver medals to open India's account in Tokyo Paralympics.

Tokyo Paralympics: Vinod Kumar bronze medal put on hold after protest (Source: Twitter/mkstalin)

Vinod Kumar, who bagged India's third medal at the Tokyo Paralympics, secured a bronze in the men's discus throw final in F52 category on Sunday. However, as per latest developments, his medal has been put on hold by the event organisers following protest over his disability classification. A decision in this regard will be delivered by Monday. 

Vinod's classification in F52, which is for athletes with impaired muscle power, restricted range of movement, limb deficiency or leg length difference, was done on August 22 by the organisers. It was not clear on what grounds the classification has been challenged.   

Congratulations  Paralympian Vinod Kumar wins Bronze Medal in#Tokyo2020 #Paralympics @ParaAthletics Men's Discus Throw F52, created an #AsianRecord #Cheer4India #Praise4Para @narendramodi @ianuragthakur @IndiaSports @Media_SAI @ddsportschannel @TheLICForever @EurosportIN pic.twitter.com/mzBrhIB6eR — Paralympic India  #Cheer4India  #Praise4Para (@ParalympicIndia) August 29, 2021

An official statement from the Games organisers was shared in this regard, which stated: "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 30th August." 

India's Chef de Mission Gursharan Singh told PTI that Vinod's medal stands for now. "There was a protest from one country or may be 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," he said. 

"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," he added. 

Vinod, 42, who serves the Indian national army, hurled the discuss to record his best attempt at 19.91m, which also saw him create a new Asian record. He finished third behind Piotr Kosewicz (20.02m) of Poland and Velimir Sandor (19.98m) of Croatia. 

Earlier in the day, India paddler Bhavina Patel and track and field athlete Nishad Kumar clinched silver medals to open India's account in Tokyo.