It might not be the throwing arm, but the left hand matters plenty in the sport of javelin. For 26-year-old Rinku Hooda, who became world champion in men’s F46 javelin throw hurling a championship record of 66.37m at the World Para Athletics Championship in Delhi, an accident had deprived him of the upper left limb – crucial in deploying this left side block. He drew explosive strength from his core instead, to win a memorable gold at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Monday.His parents Rohtas Hooda and Saroj Devi, and brother Anuj Hooda would beam with pride sitting in the front row in the stands, the happiness tinged with memory of that fateful accident 23 years ago.Hooda Sr was crushing paddy fodder with a chuffing fan attached to the tractor at village Dhamra near Rohtak. The then 3-year-old Rinku had been sleeping nearby before climbing onto the tractor unnoticed for m the other end. He rolled too close to the three-blade fan, still in his sleep, resulting in the cutting of his left arm above the elbow. Rinku Hooda’s family and friends are cheering. (Credits: Praveen Khanna/ExpressPhoto)With his son becoming a world champion at home, Hooda Sr would embrace the youngster post the win. “As a child, Rinku was active,” the father narrated about the accident. ‘When we took him to the hospital with my brother Wazir, Rinku was not even crying. That was his resolve at such a young age and now to see him win the world title is the result of (him overcoming) all his hardships and struggles” shares Rohtas while speaking with the Indian Express.Rinku would edge out Paris Paralympics silver medallist Ajeet Singh Yadav and bronze winner and current world record holder Sundar Singh Gurjar in an event dominated by Indian throwers. “I started javelin on January 15, 2013 and since then my dream has been to make India proud. I enjoy the competition but I see the competition within myself. I was aiming for a world record but then that’s for another day. I am cherishing the gold moment as my family too was cheering for me from the stands,” shared Hooda while speaking with The Indian Express.Not having a left arm was a major impediment, explains coach Dharmendra Kumar, who has been training Rinku since 2019. “If we talk of able bodied javelin throwers, the whole technique relies on the balance and the left side block after gathering speed. But that was not the case with Rinku as he does not have the left arm. So the strength to block comes from the lower stump and him using his feet touching the ground most of the time to use gravity to balance. So we worked on his core strength and explosive power. Since he was a good runner and had a good jerk, it helped him in his technique too,” he said.While Rinku would compete in running events at the school level, it was not till January 2013 that he started javelin after a visit to the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Rohtak. and would reach 50m for the first time in 2015. He qualified for Rio Paralympics the next year and would finish fifth with a throw of 54.39m in Rio.Story continues below this ad Rinku Hooda in action. (Credits: Praveen Khanna/ExpressPhoto)He first crossed 55m mark in the Worlds in London in 2017 and has come a long way. Elder brother Anuj remembers the initial days. “Rinku would ask me to take him to various meets as he wanted to observe the javelin throwers. He understood that even if he is throwing close to 50m, the mark will increase as he trains more and that has been his strength till date,” says Anuj Hooda.The youngster set a new national record with 65.69m, the second-best world mark behind Sri Lankan Diniesh Priyantha’s then world leading mark of 67.79m. One year later, Hooda crossed 67m and took World’s silver at Kobe.On Monday, Hooda would start with 63.81 before Gurjar grabbed the lead at 64.11m in his third throw. Hooda would improve his mark with a championship record throw of 66.37m on his fourth bettering the ten-year-old world record mark of 61.89m by Chinese Guo C at the Worlds in 2015.Yadav, who had won silver in Paris Paralympics at 65.62m, saw his best throw coming at 61.77m, his season best while Cuban Guillermo Varona Gonzalez won the bronze with a best throw of 63.34. At the Paris Paralympics. Hooda had finished fifth with a throw of 61.58m with Gurjar taking the bronze with a throw of 64.96m. Hooda would talk about aiming to break the 69m mark with next year’s Para Asian Games in his sights. “I was in a good rhythm today and the Mondo track here too suited me. I am glad that I could break the championship record here. The next target for me would be to reach the 68-69m mark with next year’s Asian Para Games in mind,” says Rinku.Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story ‘Harmans of Moga’, Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women’s cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin’s interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read MorePritish Raj works with sports team at The Indian Express' and is based out of New Delhi. ... Read More© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:javelin