Devendra Jhajharia

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Devendra Jhajharia
Devendra Jhajharia.jpg
Devendra Jhajharia with his gold medal from the 2016 Summer Paralympics
Personal information
NationalityIndian
Born (1981-06-10) 10 June 1981 (age 42)
Sport
Country India
SportAthletics
Event(s)F46 Javelin
Coached byR. D. Singh
Achievements and titles
Paralympic finals2004
Medal record
Track and field (athletics)
Representing  India
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio Javelin - F46
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Javelin - F44/46
IPC World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Lyon Javelin - F46
Silver medal – second place 2015 Doha Javelin - F46
Asian Para Games
Silver medal – second place 2014 Incheon Javelin - F46

Devendra Jhajharia (born 10 June 1981) is an Indian Paralympic javelin thrower competing in F46 events. He is first Indian Paralympian to win two gold medals at the Paralympics. He won his first gold in the javelin throw at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, becoming only the second gold medalist at the Paralympics for his country.[1] At the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won a second gold medal in the same event, bettering his previous record.[2] Devendra is currently being supported by the GoSports Foundation[3] through the Para Champions Programme.

Early life and background[edit]

Devendra Jhajharia was born in 1981 and hails from the Churu District in Rajasthan. At the age of eight, climbing a tree he touched a live electric cable. He received medical attention but the doctors were forced to amputate his left hand.[4][5] In 1997 he was spotted by Dronacharya Awardee coach R. D. Singh while competing at a school sports day, and from that point was coached by Singh. He gave credit to his personal coach R. D. Singh for 2004 Paralympic Gold Medal, saying: "He gives me a lot of advice and helps me during training."[6][7]

Career[edit]

In 2002 Jhajharia won the gold medal in the 8th FESPIC Games in South Korea. In 2004 Jhajharia qualified for his first Summer Paralaympic Games representing India at Athens. At the games he set a new world record with a distance of 62.15m eclipsing the old one of 59.77m. The throw gave him the gold medal and he became only the second gold medalist at the Paralympics for his country (India's first gold medal came from Murlikant Petkar).[8]

Further athletic success came in 2013 at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France when he took the gold medal in the F46 javelin throw. He followed this with a silver medal at the 2014 Asian Para Games at Incheon in South Korea. At the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha, despite throwing 59.06, Jhajharia could only finish in second place, claiming silver behind China's Guo Chunliang, who threw a championship record distance.

In 2016, he won a gold medal at the 2016 IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championship in Dubai. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won the gold medal in the men's javelin throw F46 event, bettering his own 2004 record with a world-record throw of 63.97 metres.[2]

Personal life[edit]

A former Indian Railways employee, Jhajharia is currently employed with the Sports Authority of India. His wife, Manju, is a former nationally ranked kabaddi player; the couple have two children.[9]

Awards and recognition[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "Paralympics 2016 | Devendra Jhajharia breaks World Record to win Gold at Paralympics". 14 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Paralympics: Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia wins gold by breaking world record". The New Indian Express. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "GoSports Foundation".
  4. ↑ "Devendra". infostradasports.com. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  5. ↑ Sharma, Sandipan (9 March 2005). "At awards night, Govt ignores Paralympic gold winner". indianexpress.com. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  6. ↑ Basu, Suromitro (29 October 2015). "Indian Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia wins silver medal at IPC Para-athletics meet". sportskeeda. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  7. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/sport/paralympic-gold-medallist-devendra-jhajharia-javelin-genius/article8456210.ece
  8. ↑ Shrikant, B (22 August 2012). "Forgotten hero: India's first Paralympic gold medallist". hindustantimes.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  9. ↑ "Dad I topped, now it's your turn: Daughter told Jhajharia". The Times of India. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  10. ↑ "FICCI announces the Winners of India Sports Awards for 2014". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  11. ↑ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
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