Solairaj Dharmaraj
But the competition took an unexpected turn when Japanese athlete Yuma Tamaki raised an objection about the spike that Solairaj was wearing for the men’s T44/T64 long jump event and it was halted for 20 minutes. But that couldn’t stop the 32-year-old as he put the disruptions behind him to jump 7.15 metres on his second attempt to shatter the Asian record in the T64 class. Also, only 11 nails are allowed on the blade, but as a precaution against slipping in case of rain, we had used 13. Solairaj scored 807 points, while Malaysia’s Eddy Bernard finished second with 740 points after registering 6.34m in the T44 class. Trying to deal with the trauma, he took up para athletics training at the Army Paralympic Node in Pune and won gold for India with a record jump in 2023 Para Asian Games.
Solairaj lost his left leg due to infection in 2018, working in glaciers. It was one of the seven gold medals that India won on the day as they rose to fourth position in the overall medals’ tally, which is being led by China.
We had to remove the extra nails too,” Solairaj, a subedar in the Indian Army, told TOI. To make matters worse, Solairaj was also asked to remove the extra nails fitted into his blade. “I was initially wearing a running spike, which I had to remove. As athletes from two categories competed together, their performances were assessed using the Raza points system. Solairaj has been a consistent performer for India on the international stage for a while now, but his journey has had its share of struggles.
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu para long jumper Solairaj Dharmaraj took the field in Aichi Nagoya Para Asian Games on Thursday determined to defend the gold medal he won in Hangzhou three years ago.
The athlete, who hails from Tuticorin, started practising under coach Bibin in 2024 and since has shown good improvement. “Our aim here (in Asian Para Games) was to jump 7.50m but that did not happen. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Chennai | Silver Rate in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai | Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Petrol Price in Chennai | Diesel Price in Chennai | CNG Price in Chennai | LPG Price in Chennai Stay updated with the latest Chennai news.
He is on the right path, and our next aim is the World Championships in our journey to the LA Olympics,” Bibin said. There are improvements which need to be done like improving his speed. But we have to increase it gradually, else his jumping technique will get disturbed. Download the TOI App.