Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nationality | Indian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Dhigawa Jattan, Haryana, India | 20 June 1975||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years active | 1991-present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Employer | Oil and Natural Gas Corporation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Track and field | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Discus throw | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal best | 64.37 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Updated on 18 May 2022 |
Anil Kumar (born 20 June 1975) is a well renowned Indian male discus thrower with his personal best throw of 64.37 metres attained in July, 2004 in Szombathely, Hungary. He received Arjuna Award in 2004 for his performances at Asia level. [1] He is also bestowed with the Bhim Award by State Government of Haryana. [2] He led the Indian athletics contingent for Asian Athletics Grand Prix Series held at Colombo, Bangkok and Manila in June 2003. [3]
Anil Kumar won silver medal in the Asian Games, 1998 held at Bangkok, Thailand. In the Asian Championship held in 2000 at Jakarta, Indonesia, he bagged a gold medal. He also won bronze medal in the 2002 Asian Games held at Busan, South Korea. In the following year, he won bronze medal in the Asian Championship held at Manila, Philippines and secured Gold in the Afro-Asian Games held in Hyderabad, India. Anil Kumar participated in the Summer Olympic Games in 2004 after achieving 'A' standard qualification. He was declared best athlete of 'Asli Kozar Memorial Meet' held in Varaždin, Croatia in July 2004 in the run-up for the Athens Olympics where he hurled the discus to a distance of 63.88 metres. [4] Apart from winning several international competitions in Europe, Anil Kumar also won 3 Silver and 1 Bronze medal in Asian Grand Prix Series held in Hyderabad, Colombo, Bangkok and Manila in 2003. [5]
Anil Kumar came up with two foul throws in the qualification round before being stretchered off following a muscle injury. The national record holder and medal winner at the last two Asian Games, who had a 64.37m effort in Hungary barely two weeks before the start of the Olympics and on whose training the government spent close to INR 16 lakhs, did not attempt a third try as that could have aggravated the injury. According to Lalit Bhanot, secretary of the Athletics Federation of India, "Anil pulled a muscle in the left abductor during his first throw and then tried a second, which was also foul. He then decided to skip the third to avoid aggravating the injury. [6]
Only 2 Indians, Anil Kumar and Vikas Gowda have crossed the 62 metres mark in discus throw so far. [7] All time 10 best performances of Anil Kumar are above the 61 metres mark. He has the distinction of throwing the discus to above the 62 metres mark in 5 competitions, 60 metres and above in 17 competitions, 57 metres and above in 44 and above the 55 metres mark in 50 competitions. [8] Anil Kumar's 22 year old meet record (59.55 metres) of National Federation Cup was broken by Kripal Singh on 5 April 2022, with a distance of 61.86 metres [9] On 29 September 2003, Anil Kumar created a new meet record at the 43rd Indian National Open Athletics Championships held in Bangalore with a creditable 60.07 metres at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. The previous record of 57.70 mark was held by Shakti Singh (athlete). [10] The record of Open National Athletic Championships still stands in the name of Anil Kumar till date (as of 7 September 2021). [11]
Anil created new national record with a distance of 64.37 metres in 2004 in Szombathely, Hungary surpassing Vikas Gowda's record of 64.35 metres. [12] Prior to that, the national record of 61.72 metres was held by Shakti Singh since 1994. Vikas reclaimed the record in 2005 by achieving 64.69 meters mark in Charlotte, USA. [13] The current national record of 66.28 meters was also set by Vikas Gowda at the Old Style Discus Challenge in the United States in 2012.
In 2007 Kumar was found guilty of norandrosterone doping. The sample was delivered in an in-competition test at the 2005 Asian Championships in Incheon. He received an IAAF suspension from September 2005 to September 2007, meaning that his suspension was already over when announced. Additionally he was disqualified from the competition where he originally had won a bronze medal. [14]
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Representing India | ||||
1998 | Asian Games | Bangkok, Thailand | second | [15] |
2000 | Asian Championships | Djakarta, Indonesia | first | [16] |
2002 | Asian Games | Busan, South Korea | third | 59.81 m |
2003 | Asian Championships | Manila, Philippines | third | |
Afro-Asian Games | Hyderabad, India | 1st | ||
2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | — | NM |
2005 | Asian Championships | Incheon, South Korea | DSQ | see above |
The men's discus throw competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens was held at the Olympic Stadium on 21–23 August. It was originally planned to hold the discus throw at the Ancient Olympia Stadium, but it was discovered that the field was not large enough to accommodate the range of modern discus throwers, and would have posed a danger to spectators. As such, it was decided to move the discus throw and to hold the shot put at the ancient stadium, despite the fact that the shot put was not contested at the Ancient Olympic Games. Thirty-nine athletes from 26 nations competed.
Ivan Ryhoravich Tsikhan is a Belarusian hammer thrower. He is a two-time world champion and an Olympic medalist.
Iryna Vasiliyevna Yatchenko is a Belarusian former discus thrower best known for winning two Olympic bronze medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics, although she was eventually stripped of the latter medal due to a doping offence. She also became world champion at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. Her personal best is 69.14 metres, achieved in July 2004 in Minsk.
Koji Alexander Murofushi, is a former Japanese hammer thrower and sports scientist. He has been among the world elite since the 2001 World Championships, where he won the silver medal. He was the 2004 Olympic champion. In 2011, he was crowned world champion.
Seema Punia-Antil is an Indian discus thrower.Her personal best throw is 64.84 m,achieved in Kyiv in 2004.
The men's discus throw event at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday, 24 September and Monday, 25 September. Forty-five athletes from 28 nations competed. The event was won by Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania, the nation's second victory in the men's discus throw. Lars Riedel of Germany took silver, becoming the 13th man to win multiple discus throw medals. Frantz Kruger earned South Africa's first medal in the event with his bronze.
Neelam Jaswant Singh is an Indian discus thrower.
The men's shot put at the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics was held on August 18, 2004, at the Ancient Olympia Stadium in Olympia, Greece. It was originally planned to hold the discus throw at this venue, but it was discovered that the field was insufficiently large to accommodate the range of modern discus throwers, and would have posed a danger to spectators. As such, it was decided instead to hold the shot put at the site, despite the fact that the shot put was not contested at the Ancient Olympic Games. All distances are given in metres. Thirty-nine athletes from 26 nations competed.
Vikas Shive Gowda is an Indian discus thrower and shot putter. Born in Mysore, he grew up in Frederick, Maryland in the United States. His father, Shive Gowda, coached the 1988 Indian Olympic track team. Vikas Gowda is a Padma Shri awardee in 2017.
The men's discus throw at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California had an entry list of 20 competitors from 14 nations, with two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on August 10, 1984. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Rolf Danneberg of West Germany, the nation's first medal in the men's discus throw and the first victory by any German athlete in the event. Mac Wilkins and John Powell of the United States won silver and bronze; they were the eighth and ninth men to win multiple discus throw medals. The United States continued its 19-Games streak of earning at least one medal every time it appeared, missing the podium only in the boycotted 1980 Games; however, this would be the last Games in that streak—and, in fact, the last medals the United States would earn in the event through at least 2020.
The men's discus throw event at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 16–19 August at the Beijing National Stadium. Thirty-seven athletes from 29 nations competed. The event was won by Gerd Kanter of Estonia, the nation's first victory in the men's discus throw. Piotr Małachowski took silver to give Poland its first medal in the event. Lithuanian thrower Virgilijus Alekna's bronze made him the third man to win three medals in the sport, adding to his gold medals from 2000 and 2004.
The 2010 Asian Junior Athletics Championships was the 14th edition of the international athletics competition for Asian under-20 athletes, organised by the Asian Athletics Association. It took place from 1 to 4 July 2010 at the Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Hanoi – the first time the competition was held in Vietnam. A total of 44 events were contested, which were divided equally between male and female athletes. Three championship records were improved over the course of the four-day competition and numerous national junior records were also bettered. The competition, including its opening and closing ceremonies, was broadcast live on Vietnamese carrier VTV3.
Sourabh Vij is an Indian shot putter. He won gold at the second Commonwealth Youth Games. In 2006 he won an Asian Junior silver medal and represented India at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics.
Rashid Shafi Al-Dosari is a Qatari track and field athlete who competed in the discus throw. He has represented Qatar at the Summer Olympics on two occasions, making his debut in 2000 and reaching the final at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He was also a finalist at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. In 2003 he was banned from competing for two years due to his refusal to be tested for doping.
In India, the Athletics was introduced during the period of the British Raj. The sport is governed by the Athletics Federation of India, which was formed in 1946.
Brett Morse is a British athlete who competes in the discus throw.
Lü Huihui is a Chinese athlete who competes in the javelin throw. She won the silver medal at the 2015 World Championships and bronze medals at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships.
India participated in the 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom held from 23 July to 3 August 2014.
The men's discus throw competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was held at the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange on 12–13 August. Thirty-five athletes from 24 nations competed. Germany's Christoph Harting succeeded his brother Robert Harting to the Olympic title. "It was the first time in Olympic history, in any sport, that brothers succeeded each other as Olympic champions in the same individual event." It was also the nation's third victory in the event. Poland's Piotr Małachowski took the silver medal ahead of another German, Daniel Jasinski. Małachowski had also won silver eight years before, making him the 16th man to win multiple medals in the discus throw.
The 2019 South Asian Games, officially the XIII South Asian Games, was a major multi-sport event which was originally slated to be held from 9 to 18 March 2019 in Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal. However, the dates were postponed and the event was held from 1–10 December 2019, coincidentally at the same time as the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines. The new dates were confirmed at the South Asian Olympic Council Executive Board meeting in Bangkok on 1 March 2019. The Dasarath Stadium hosted the opening ceremony along with the men's football tournament, with the stadium's renovation after the 2015 earthquake completed in under 10 months with an increased capacity of 20,000, along with the closing ceremony on 10 December.