Paris 2024 Olympics: What is Tajinderpal Singh Toor's personal best in shot put?
Tajinderpal Singh Toor will be India's sole representative in the men's shot put event at the Paris Olympics 2024. The shot put events will take place on August 2 and 3 at Stade de France, the country's largest stadium.
Toor's personal best performance throw of 21.77m came in the 2023 Nationals in Bhubaneswar, which also qualified him for the Asian Games.
The 29-year-old held the Asian record with a 21.77m throw until June 2024, when Mohamed Daouda Tolo of Saudi Arabia surpassed it with a 21.80m throw at the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver event in Madrid.
Earlier, Toor qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with an attempt of 21.49m - a national record at that time in the fourth Indian Grand Prix of 2021. With a throw of 19.99m, he finished 13th overall in the Games and did not advance into the final round.
When talked about his early life, Toor learned the game from his uncle, Gurudev Singh, who is a former international shot put medalist. He came into the national reckoning by winning back-to-back Federation Cup in 2016 and 2017.
Tajinderpal Singh Toor has had gold medal finishes in every event since 2023
Tajinderpal Singh Toor has been in impressive form leading up to the Paris Olympics. Since 2023, he has participated in a total of 13 events and secured a gold medal in all of them.
Tajinderpal Singh Toor won the yellow metal in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, and the Asian Athletics Championships 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. He concluded the event by clinching a gold medal with a throw of 20.36m in the Asian Games.
This year, he won the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tehran, the Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar, and the National Interstate Senior Athletics Championships in Panchkula. However, his best attempt of 20.38m achieved in the Federation Cup was nowhere close to the Paris qualification mark of 21.50m.
After being ranked 23rd in the men's shot put event, Tajinderpal Singh Toor secured a quota in the Paris Olympics through world rankings. It will be interesting to see whether he can set the bar with his performances in the Games.