Nagoya, October 20, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Indian javelin thrower Rinku Hooda clinched the men’s F46 gold medal at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya on Monday, producing a remarkable final-attempt throw of 65.11 metres to beat compatriot Ajeet Singh by nine centimetres.
The 27-year-old Haryana athlete from Dhamar secured the title despite battling a shoulder injury during preparations and struggling with the emotional aftermath of his mother’s death on August 8. In an exclusive interaction with IANS after his victory, Hooda opened up about his grief, the difficulty of returning to training and his determination to remain competitive.
“There has never been a day when I haven’t cried. From morning to evening. Every time, I cry once or twice a day. I miss her. But I never thought that this would happen to me,” Hooda said.
He admitted that the loss had deeply affected his ability to concentrate on training, even as he continued to compete and win medals.
“You can’t train, to be honest. I am telling the truth. You can say anything from the outside. But as long as you are a bit of a family man, you don’t say that whatever has happened is fine. But still, the heart doesn’t agree from the inside. I still win medals. I don’t feel that I have won a medal,” he said, describing how his mother’s absence continued to affect him.
Recalling the day his mother passed away, Hooda described a moment that continues to haunt him. He said she had been resting with her head on his hand until around 3:10 p.m. before he briefly left to provide a sample for a doping test.
“Everyone has to go one day. I also have to go one day. Everyone has to. But it just feels like when it’s time to see the happiness, then that person leaves you,” he said.
Hooda explained that his brother Anuj had asked him to rest while he looked after their mother, whose oxygen support was running continuously. When the doping team arrived, Hooda told his mother he would return within 10 minutes after providing the sample.
“I went to the adjacent house, our second house. I’ll remember those 10 minutes throughout my life; the shock that I felt, I still feel that shock,” he recalled emotionally.
Hooda resumed training on August 19 but struggled to regain his routine. His father encouraged him to continue pursuing his sporting ambitions, reminding him to focus on himself and his future. However, another setback followed when he developed shoulder pain during a training session.
An MRI revealed a Grade 1 tear. Hooda subsequently consulted his doctor, Swapnil, and his strength and conditioning coach, Lakshya, to determine how best to manage the injury and prepare for the competition.
“We discussed what to do next. We also missed four or five sessions. And the day we started, we started with taping. And I did the taping yesterday as well. Because we couldn’t take the risk,” he said.
Before the injury, Hooda had been recording throws in the 61-62-metre range. The shoulder problem, however, made it difficult to predict whether he could reach 64 or 65 metres at the Asian Para Games. His team modified his preparation and carefully managed his workload.
Despite the uncertainty, Hooda and his support team planned to secure a strong distance in his opening attempts because they were unsure whether his shoulder would withstand all six throws.
“I wanted to take my bets out on the first throw itself. My injury was completely cured, so I wanted to get my best throws in the initial two attempts. We had made a plan beforehand. That if we do it, we will do it in the first or second throw because we didn’t know whether we’d manage to get to the sixth attempt or not,” he said.
The competition eventually went down to the final round. Ajeet Singh recorded 65.02 metres in his fourth attempt, putting pressure on Hooda to produce a bigger throw. The Haryana athlete responded with 65.11 metres on his last attempt to secure gold. Indonesia’s R. Saktyono finished third with 55.30 metres.
Hooda said he never lost faith in his ability to win, pointing to his history of producing decisive performances in the final round of major competitions.
“I always try to put all my energy into the last throw. I did the same thing in the last Asian Games. In the 2022 Asian Games, I threw the last throw of 67 metres. And the same thing happened in the World Championships in Paris,” he said.
He added that he was unsure whether his body simply needed more time to warm up, but his best throws frequently came in his final attempt.
Beyond his own achievement, Hooda called for greater financial and institutional support for young athletes entering para-sports. While established competitors often have jobs and sponsorships, he said emerging athletes needed more assistance to build sustainable careers.
“The senior players have sponsorships and jobs. There is a backup in every way. But the junior players who are playing for the first time, they need more support. They need more sponsorships and help from TOPS. The federation is always backing them; there’s no doubt about it. But our new junior players should be supported more,” he said.
Hooda plans to take a break of one or two months before resuming training. Although he has not set an immediate performance target, his long-term ambition remains focused on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic cycle.
“There is no target right now as such. We will rest for a month or two. Our main focus is one thing that we want to achieve – and that is the Olympics. Whatever competition there is, we want to play as we did in this game. But our plan will always be for the LA 2028 Olympics. Whether we do it or not, that will always be the main focus,” he said.
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