Haney suffers heartbreak but speaks of "valuable experience" at World Para Athletics Championships

New Delhi [India], October 2 (ANI): There are days when you are going full throttle, and there is no stopping you. Then there are days when, in the face of adversity, you save the day for yourself and your country right at the last minute.

There are days when you are certain of winning something, only to have it taken away from you by an extraordinary last-ditch effort from a rival. India's discus thrower Haney experienced a whole gamut of emotions in the ongoing IndianOil New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Thursday.

"I was sure of winning a bronze but in the last round of attempts, the Japanese went past me and I couldn't do well either. I am very disappointed," the Haryana teenager said after the discus throw F37 event under a sunny sky.

Haney, who trains at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Rohtak under coach Sunil Phogat, started the event on a great note with a throw of 51.22. Since his personal and season best was 53.81, there was always this hope that he might be able to better his first throw. Unfortunately, that never happened.

Though he still stayed in medal contention, before Yamato Shimbo of Japan unleashed a personal best throw of 54.50 in his last attempt to push himself up to second place and a silver. As a result of his extraordinary effort, Mykola Zhabnyak of Ukraine was displaced from second to third and Haney from third to fourth.

It was a story of so near and yet so far, to all intents and purposes. Nevertheless, Haney, all of 19 years, got loads of experience participating in such a high-profile, highly competitive event, Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) said in a release.

"I learnt a lot. It is a big event, participating alongside international athletes, it was great learning. I am going to work harder and get better. Next year, there are the Asian Games, and that's what I am targeting," Haney, who is part of the Hyundai Samarth initiative, concluded.

It may be noted that in the last Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China, two years ago, Haney won a gold medal in javelin F37/38. At the Delhi World Para Athletics Grand Prix earlier this year, he also won a bronze medal in the discus throw F37. Clearly, he is a man of many parts, and at this rate, the sky is the limit for him. (ANI)

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