Who is Pranav Soorma? All you need to know about the Indian para-athlete competing in the Paris 2024 Paralympics
India is sending 84 para-athletes to the upcoming Paris 2024 Paralympics, and Pranav Soorma is among those expected to lead the medal charge in his event at the quadrennial event. The Paris 2024 Paralympics will take place between August 28 and September 8.
Pranav Soorma, who will take part in the men’s club throw F51 event, is an Asian Games record holder with a throw of 30.01m to his name. He also holds the world record in the discipline with a record throw of 37.23m. The F51 event is reserved for those with one of the most serious levels of injury affecting most of the body below the neck.
As one of the most successful members in India’s largest-ever Paralympics contingent, Soorma will be expected to clinch a podium finish in his Paralympic Games debut in France.
Pranav Soorma’s career in brief
Born in Faridabad, Haryana, Pranav Soorma’s life was ordinary. As a kid, Soorma loved to dabble in sports without ever considering it as a profession. However, his life turned upside down when he met with a horrible accident in 2011. At the tender age of 16, he was rendered a quadriplegic when the roof of his house fell on him.
However, Soorma’s indomitable spirit shined through, and after the accident, which he would later describe as "a blessing in disguise," he turned his attention to para-athletics.
Bound to a wheelchair with little movement in his arms, he was attracted to para-sports after the Rio 2016 Paralympics. He briefly considered para-swimming and para-table tennis but had to abandon those plans due to a lack of coaches and unsuitability towards his condition.
Soorma finally landed his sights on para club throwing, guided by para-athletics coach Narsi Ram. Supported by his family, he took up para-athletics in earnest.
After success at national-level tournaments, Pranav Soorma enjoyed his breakout moment in 2019, when he clinched a silver medal in the Beijing Grand Prix. He continued his winning run, clinching gold and silver medals in the Tunisia Grand Prix in 2022.
Next year, he clinched a gold medal in the Serbia Open 2023. However, his crowning moment came in the delayed 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, where he won gold in his event with an Asian Games record-breaking throw of 30.01m.
However, not one to settle for good, Soorma bettered his own record in the Khelo India Para Games 2023, registering a throw of 33.54m in the F51 category. Soorma then went for further greatness, securing his Paris 2024 Paralympics berth with a world record throw of 37.23m at a trial match organized in July in Bengaluru.
Now in Paris, Pranav Soorma will look to reap the fruits of his hard work and determination by clinching a gold medal in India’s quest to better its medal tally from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.