How did Tajinderpal Singh Toor qualify for Paris Olympics 2024?
Asian Games gold medal-winning shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor qualified for Paris Olympics 2024 through the Road to Paris rankings route. He was ranked 23rd in the men's shot put for the 2024 Summer Games, with a total of 17 athletes qualifying via rankings and 15 were direct entries.
Most recently, Tajinderpal Singh Toor secured the gold medal with a best effort of 19.93m in his final attempt at the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Panchkula, Haryana. He was expected to miss the Panchkula meet due to an ankle injury.
However, he has struggled with fitness in the past few years. Just after the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, he underwent surgery on the left wrist of his throwing arm.
A few years later, he suffered a groin injury after winning the gold medal at the Asian Championships in July 2023 in Bangkok. Furthermore, he pulled out of the Budapest World Championships with a groin injury.
Tajinderpal Singh Toor holds the national record
Tajinderpal Singh previously held the Asian record with a throw of 21.77 meters. However, Mohamed Daouda Tolo from Saudi Arabia surpassed Singh's record with a 21.80m throw during the Estadio Vallehermoso event in Madrid in June earlier this year.
Tajinderpal, who holds the national record with a throw of 21.77m, bagged gold medals in the Asian Games in 2018 and 2023. Furthermore, he secured gold medals in Asian Championships in 2019 and 2023. Additionally, he also won the Asian Indoor Championships in 2023 and 2024.
Toor qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 with a throw of 21.49m at the Indian Grand Prix IV in June 2021, clearing the 21.10m entry standard set by the IOC. He competed with a heavily bandaged shoulder at the Games, registering only one legal throw of 19.99m in the qualifying round and failing to reach the final.
At the 27th National Federation Senior Athletics Competition 2024 in May at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar, he clinched the title with a throw of 20.38m. Earlier in the 3rd Indian Open Throws Competition in Patiala, he secured the gold medal with the best throw of 19.82m.