Vinod's discus throw bronze on hold at Paralympics after protest over his disability classification
Tokyo, Aug 29: Left bed-ridden for close to 10 years after falling off a cliff, Indian discus thrower Vinod Kumar scripted an astonishing tale of resilience by clinching a bronze medal in the men's F52 event of the Paralympics but a protest has put his celebrations on hold for now.
The 41-year-old BSF man, whose Army man father was injured during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, produced a best throw of 19.91m to finish third behind Piotr Kosewicz (20.02m) of Poland and Velimir Sandor (19.98m) of Croatia.
However, the result has been challenged by some other competitors, who have objected to his classification in the F52 category. The grounds of the protest are not clear as the process was completed on August 22.
"Results of this event are currently under review due to classification observation in competition. The Victory Ceremony has been postponed to the evening session of 30th August," read a statement from the Games organisers.
F52 is for athletes with impaired muscle power, restricted range of movement, limb deficiency or leg length difference, with athletes competing in seated position with cervical cord injury, spinal cord injury, amputation, and functional disorder.
Para-athletes are classified depending on the type and extent of their disability. The classification system allows athletes to compete those with a similar level of ability.
The Haryana-athlete's performance was an Asian record and gave India its third medal of the ongoing edition, which happens to be his debut.
Vinod injured his legs while training after joining the BSF, falling off a cliff in Leh that left him bed-ridden for close to a decade during which he lost both his parents.
His condition improved around 2012 and his tryst with para-sports began after the 2016 Rio Games.
He began training at the Rohtak's Sports Authority of India centre and picked up a couple of national bronze medals, justifying the old adage that where there is a will, a way is not too far.
His first international outing happened in 2019 when he participated in the Paris Grand Prix before finishing fourth in the world championships the same year.
Bhavinaben Patel and Nishad Kumar had earlier won a silver each in women's singles table tennis class 4 and men's T47 high jump events respectively on Sunday.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
