Yogesh Kathuniya (born 3 March 1997) is an Indian Paralympic athlete who specializes in the discus throw. He represented

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

where he won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

in the men's discus throw F56 event.

Early life

Kathuniya was born to housewife Meena Devi and her husband Gyanchand Kathuniya, a soldier with the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. At the age of 9, Yogesh developed Guillain–Barré syndrome. He studied at Indian Army Public School in

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

where his father served in army at Chandimandir Cantonment. His mother learnt physiotherapy, and within 3 years, at the age of 12 he regained muscle strength to walk again. He later attended

Kirori Mal College Kirori Mal College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi. Established in 1954, it is located in the North Campus of the university in New Delhi, India. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the sciences, humanities ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, where he earned a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

and joined para games.Mother became physio to help Yogesh get back on his feet, now he is India's hope in Paralympics
Indian Express, 27 August 2021.

Career

In 2016, Kathunia started in para sports after Sachin Yadav, General Secretary of the

students' union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

at Kirori Mal College motivated him to take up sports by regularly showing him videos of para athletes. In 2018, he set a world record in F36 category by throwing the disc to 45.18 m at the

2018 World Para Athletics European Championships The 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships was a track and field competition for athletes with a disability open to International Paralympic Committee (IPC) affiliated countries within Europe, plus Azerbaijan and Israel. It was held in ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Kathuniya represented India in the men's discus throw F56 at the

and won a silver medal. In 2021 November, the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...

, awarded Kathuniya the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

for his silver medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kathuniya, Yogesh 1997 births Living people Athletes from Delhi Indian male discus throwers Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships Paralympic athletes for India Paralympic silver medalists for India Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Recipients of the Arjuna Award

Early life

Career

See also

References

External links