Asian Games 2018: Tejinderpal Singh Toor wins gold in shot put with record throw

Tejinderpal Singh Toor clinched India’s seventh gold and first in the shot put with a record throw of 20.75m at the 18^th Asian Games in Jakarta on Saturday.

The 23-year-old, who had won the silver at the Asian Championships last year set both a national and Asian record with his throw. He is also the first Indian to win the men’s shot put gold at the Asiad since Bahadur Singh Sagoo, who had won the gold in 2002, Busan with a best throw of 19.03m.

#AsianGames2018
A gold-lined evening as #TajinderpalSinghToor claims #TeamIndia‘s 7th Gold! In a gasping second last attempt, Tajinderpal threw a massive 20.75m to claim a Gold medal and a new #AsianGames Record to his name! Kudos @Tajinder_Singh3 ????#IAmTeamIndia pic.twitter.com/njLOJ8QmGX

— Team India (@ioaindia) August 25, 2018

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His opening and fourth throw of 19.96m was enough to bring him the gold ahead of Liu Yang of China (19.52m) and Ivan Ivanov of Kazakhstan (19.40m), both of whom registered their season’s best throws with a silver and bronze medal respectively.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sports and Youth Affairs minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore took to Twitter to congratulate the Punjab athlete.

A historic Gold and a new record!

Congratulations to Tejender Pal Singh Toor for winning the prestigious Gold medal in the Shot put event at the @asiangames2018. Proud of him for setting a new Asian Games record as well. pic.twitter.com/19Ccik3ovi

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 25, 2018

A RECORD BREAKING GOLDEN THROW!

Champion Tejinderpal Singh Toor has won a GOLD medal in Shot Put at #AsianGames2018.

What a performance! What a champ! #KheloIndia #IndiaAtAsianGames2018 pic.twitter.com/R8eK7y5ce7

— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) August 25, 2018

Tejinder also bettered the six-year-old record of 20.69m set by Om Prakash Karhana and made it eight gold medals for India at the Asian Games’ history. Beginning the competition as the seasoned leader, Tejinder was expected by many to claim the gold.

And having all but sealed the podium top with highest throws in the first and fourth attempt, Tejinder threw 20.75 in his fifth and penultimate throw, in the process also breaking his previous best record of 20.24m, which he had achieved last year.

The Punjab athlete had begun his sporting journey as a cricketer in his early years before being encouraged by his father to take up shot put. The gold was his first major tournament medal this year after the disappointment at the Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast in April, where he finished eighth after managing a score of just 19.42m.

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