Bangkok. Indian shot putter Tejinderpal Singh dominated the continental circuit as he retained his gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championships here on Friday. However, after his best effort in the second throw, he came out limping. Asian record holder Toor threw the shot at a distance of 20.23m in the second throw but came out limping with a groin injury after this attempt.
Iran’s Saberi Mehdi (19.98m) took the silver and Kazakhstan’s Ivan Ivanov (19.87m) won the bronze. Toor (28 years) is the third shot put athlete to have retained the Asian Championship title. Qatar’s Bilal Saad Mubarak has achieved this feat twice, winning two consecutive gold medals in 1995 and 1998 and 2002 and 2003. Kuwait’s Mohammad Gharib Al Zinqawi won the first position three times in a row in 1979, 1981 and 1983. The seriousness of Tour’s injury is not yet known but it could be a matter of concern for him as the World Championships (17 to 27 August) begin in Budapest a month later.
Toor had qualified for the World Championship with a new Asian record throw of 21.77m at the National Inter-State Championship in Bhubaneswar last month. Tour had missed the 2022 World Championship due to a groin strain and the injury, which he had picked up before the tournament, also ruled him out of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Tour also underwent surgery on his left throwing wrist shortly after the Tokyo Olympics. He took part on Friday with a bandage on his left wrist.
