Suvarna Raj, 44, won the women’s F54 discus gold at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya with a best throw of 15.66 metres on her fifth attempt. Iran’s Shahla Hadidi took silver with 15.45m, and Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thuy took bronze.
Nagoya, Japan: Suvarna Raj saved her best for the fifth round. The 44-year-old from Greater Noida launched the discus 15.66 metres on her fifth attempt on Thursday to win the women’s F54 gold at the Asian Para Games, finishing 21 centimetres clear of Iran’s Shahla Hadidi.
A consistent competition
Suvarna had four throws beyond 15 metres across her six attempts, which gave her a platform no one else could break. Hadidi took silver with 15.45m, and Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thuy was third on 14.65m.
Who she is
Suvarna is a wheelchair user who began competing in para athletics in 2017 and is coached by Pintu Nagar. She is ranked second in Asia in the F54 discus and has represented India at three Asian Para Games. Off the field she works as an accessibility specialist and disability rights advocate, with more than 1,000 accessibility audits behind her, and she has served as the Election Commission of India’s brand ambassador for accessible elections.
India’s athletics streak
The gold continued a run for India’s throwers. On Wednesday Sachin Khilari set a Games record as India swept the shot put F46 podium, and the team’s haul that day was summarised in our day-three report. Suvarna’s throw kept that momentum going into day four.
Result: Women’s F54 discus throw, Asian Para Games, Nagoya. Gold: Suvarna Raj (India) 15.66m; Silver: Shahla Hadidi (Iran) 15.45m; Bronze: Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thuy (Vietnam) 14.65m.
