Asian Para Games: Soorma likens his discus gold to Virat Kohli’s rare wicket

India’s Pranav Soorma struck gold in the men’s discus throw at the Asian Para Games on Tuesday, setting a new Asian record in his first major event at the tournament. The 32-year-old had an apt comparison for the achievement, likening it to Indian batting star Virat Kohli, who picked up wickets while bowling occasionally.

Soorma won gold in the F51/52/53 combined event with a throw of 11.66 metres on his fourth attempt. Countryman Ram Ratan Singh claimed silver with a personal best of 10.35m in his second attempt to make it 1-2 for India.

“When we play cricket, sometimes the batsman bowls. Like Virat Kohli, he can bat very well. But after a long time, he bowls an over in which he gets (the bat) out,” Soorma said after winning the gold.

The 32-year-old won gold in the F51 club throw at the previous Asian Para Games in China. However, the discus is his second event and he was delighted to make an immediate impact on his debut at a major competition.

“This is a new event for me. I am competing in this event (disc) for the first time in such a big event. I am very happy to make my personal best and break the Asian record,” he said.

“My pet event is the club throw, this (discus) is my second event. This time I’m competing in both the discus and the club.”

Soorma also explained the technical differences between the club throw and discus throw, particularly the way the athletes handle the equipment.

“The club throw and the discus throw are technically very different games, we have to put glue on the stick, stick it with our fingers.

“But in disc, we apply it to the whole hand. So technically speaking, to apply the glue and really stick it and release it, that’s a very technical aspect,” he said.

Soorma said he spent the last year working hard and doing extra training to prepare for the discus, a relatively new addition to his competition program.

Iran’s Alireza Hemami, an F53 athlete, won bronze with a throw of 20.20m on his fourth attempt. Although Hemami recorded more distance than the Indian pair, he finished behind them in the Raza Point System, which determines the ranking in combined events with athletes from different classifications.

The system converts performances into a standardized score after taking into account the athletes’ impairment classification. This allows competitors from different classes to be scored fairly, meaning that a shorter throw may be ranked higher than a longer throw.

Soorma and Singh are both F51 athletes. The classification includes competitors with significant limitations in trunk, leg and arm movement, along with varying degrees of arm movement limitation.

Athletes with similar classifications may compete together if there are not enough participants to hold separate events. Categories F51-F57 include seated throwing for athletes with lower body impairments, limb deficiencies, reduced muscle strength, limited range of motion, or leg length differences.

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