Paris Paralympics 2024: Hokato Hotozhe Sema wins bronze in men's shot put F57 as India end Day 9 with a medal

India ended Day 9 of the Paralympic Games in Paris on a jubilant note with Hokato Hotozhe Sema winning bronze in the men’s shot put F57 category.

Sema finished third in the event with a throw of 14.65 metres, his personal best that was enough to guarantee him a place on the podium.

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Soman Rana was the other Indian participating in the final and he finished fifth with a throw of 14.07m in his second attempt, briefly occupying the bronze medal position after he was done with his six attempts.

Iran’s Yasin Khosravi won gold with a throw of 15.96m — a Paralympic record — in his fourth attempt while Brazil’s Thiago Paulino dos Santos took home silver with a throw of 15.06m, the only other competitor to breach the 15-metre mark.

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The 40-year-old Dimapur-born Army man, who had won the bronze medal at the Hangzhou Para Games last year, started with a mediocre throw of 13.88m before he hit a purple patch.

The only athlete from Nagaland who is part of the Indian contingent at the Paralympics touched the 14m mark on his second throw and then improved further with a heave of 14.40m.

However, Sema, who lost his left leg in a landmine blast while taking part in an anti-terrorist operation in Jammu & Kashmir’s Chowkibal in 2002, achieved his best throw in his fourth throw, surpassing his personal best of 14.49m on way to the bronze medal.

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Iran’s Khosravi, the 31-year-old two-time para world champion and Hangzhou Para Games gold medallist, clinched the top spot with a Paralympic record of 15.96m, which he achieved on his fourth attempt. He missed rewriting his own world mark of 16.01m by just five centimetres.

Brazil’s Dos Santos took the silver with his best throw of 15.06m.

Sema, who was encouraged by a senior army official at the Pune-based Artificial Limb Centre to take up shot put after seeing his fitness, took up the sport in 2016 at the age of 32 and was soon competing in the National Para Athletics Championships in Jaipur the same year.

The other Indian in the fray, Rana, silver medallist at the Hangzhou Para Games, finished fifth with a best throw of 14.07m.

F57 category is for field athletes with movement affected to a low degree in one leg, moderately in both feet or the absence of limbs. These athletes have to compensate for significant asymmetry in power from the legs but have full upper body power.

With PTI inputs