The joy of Indian sports lovers didn’t last for long as discus thrower Vinod Kumar lost his bronze medal after the competition committee of the Tokyo Paralympics on Monday found him ineligible in the disability classification assessment.
The decision was taken by the Tokyo Paralympics Technical Delegates.
An official statement was released in this regard, which said: “Following re-assessment by the classification panel, athlete Vinod Kumar is ineligible for the Men’s F52 Discus medal event and his results in that competition are void”.
F52 is for athletes with impaired muscle power, restricted range of movement, limb deficiency or leg length difference, with athletes competing in a 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 with those with a similar level of ability.
Kumar’s classification was done on 22 August.
With this, India's medal tally has now been reduced to six at the Tokyo Paralympics.