Tajinderpal Singh Toor knew it was going to be a big throw the moment the shot put left his hands during his third try at the interstate tournament on Monday. As everyone awaited confirmation from the officials as to the precise distance he had thrown the 7.26 kg metal ball, the gentle giant, as he is called on the circuit, let out a shout.Days after losing his grandmother, Singh Toor sets a new Asian shot put record.
The field officials later validated his suspicion of a large throw. Toor broke his previous national and Asian record of 21.49m achieved two years ago with a throw of 21.77m. When the distance appeared on the board, he closed his eyes and raised his gaze to the sky as he thought about his recently deceased grandma.
“I became a little emotional when I knew I had broken the record. My eyes began to tear up, and I briefly considered her. After the event, an emotional Toor said, “I want to dedicate this medal to her.”
At the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games, which will take place later this year, Toor, who already held the lead in Asia with a height of 21.20m, is the favourite to win gold. The Punjabi athlete has had a difficult couple of years, beginning with the Olympics in Tokyo where he was injured his wrist and was unable to compete in the finals. Later, he had to have surgery, which caused him to be sidelined for a spell.
Toor has struggled with loss on a personal level as well. Due to problems, his wife had to have an abortion in December. I said, “Kaaafi jhatke lage hain. (I have experienced numerous setbacks), but I always get back up and keep going. After I lost my grandma, I did not want to attend the interstate meet, but since this was an Asian Games trial, I persuaded myself to come. It was difficult because I had recently injured my groyne area before coming here. I simply came here in the hope that God would direct me, said Toor.
Toor, a 28-year-old man who weighs 150 kg, strikes the uninitiated as being a frightening figure. But it is not at all the case. One of the friendliest people on the tour, he is. “When people first meet me, they tend to think I’m a little haughty, but I assure you that I am a very calm and gentle person. The only place where there is aggressiveness is on the pitch, he remarked.
Toor remembered the time when she used to give him money from Canada for his training needs while dedicating the gold medal and the new continental record to his late grandma. She assisted me with my costs up till I found work in 2016 with the Indian Navy. everything, from uniforms to shoes. Whenever I needed money, she would send it,” he claimed.
Due to his large physique, Toor’s expenses were far more than those of the average thrower. He spent a fortune on his extra-large shoes. “It was quite challenging to find shoes that fit my US size 13 feet. Now I order them from abroad, but because of my weight, they don’t last very long. Within a few months, the soles become flat, he claimed.
Despite experiencing many ups and downs during his long tenure on the circuit, Toor has never regretted choosing athletics as a career. After his professors at his previous schools lost up on him, the gentle giant believes he was destined to be a sportsperson.
“I don’t believe I could have pursued anything else sports. Teachers completely lost up on me, as evidenced by the phrase “Tajinder Toor, please get out of the class,” which he remembers hearing virtually daily.
Expectations for the men’s long jump finals were high because the top two jumpers in the world, Jeswin Aldrin and Sreeshankar Murali, were in the starting lineup. The Kalinga Stadium’s audience, which was primarily made up of coaches and athletes, may not have seen the performance they were hoping for. Except for Murali, no other jumpers were able to surpass the 8-meter barrier. Sreeshankar, who recently took third place in the Diamond League’s Paris leg, set a best try on Monday of 8.29 metres. The World Championship qualifying mark for the jump was 8.25 metres, but the Commonwealth Games silver medalist had already jumped 8.41 metres in the qualifying round on Sunday, coming up only a centimetre short of the national record held by Jeswin.
