Paris Paralympics 2024: Kathuniya reflects on mental toughness after second consecutive Paralympic silver

Indian discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya on Wednesday said he needs to work on the mental strength of his game after clinching yet another silver medal at the Paris Paralympics 2024 marking his fifth consecutive secondplace finish since the Tokyo Games three years agoThe 27yearold from Haryana achieved a seasonbest throw of 4222m in the discus throw F56 on Monday but admitted he has not been at his best mentallyI have lacked in mental strength I will have to build up more just as it was before in 2022 Since I got injured due to cervical it has come down Kathuniya told PTI during an interactionIf you are mentally fit you can defeat your opponent easily If you have a strong mindset you know that this is not a big deal You just have to go there and perform If a person is totally focused mentally he can do very well in the future Kathuniya competes from a seated position in F56 which includes athletes with amputations and spinal cord injuries He battled through chickenpox early last year and was later diagnosed with cervical radiculopathy which affected the C4 C5 and C6 vertebrae Despite these setbacks he secured a silver medal at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou last yearIts okay I am still young I can easily play two more Paralympics I will do better I will change my style this time I have a World Championship next year I will perform well next year said Kathuniya who attended the Kirori Mal College in DelhiHe had picked up silver medals at the 2023 and 2024 World Championships as well as in the Asian Para Games last yearKathuniya who as a nineyearold had developed GuillainBarre syndrome a rare autoimmune condition that causes numbness tingling and muscle weakness that can progress to paralysis was wheelchairbound before his mother learned physiotherapy to help him regain muscle strength to walk againHis throw at the Paris Paralympics 2024 fell short of his 4438m effort in Tokyo and his personal best of 48m which he achieved at the Indian Open which is not a World Para Athletics eventIt the level has gone down a little To be honest if I had won my personal best and taken the silver medal I swear I would have been very happy I wouldnt have had any problem I would have thought that yes I have performed well he saidAlso ReadPramod Bhagatrsquos absence gave extra responsibility to win gold Nitesh KumarI know the capability that I have I am not saying this out of overconfidence But I am not able to do it in Paralympics If not now then when I will have to do it once Reflecting on his preparations Kathuniya said he should have participated in more competitions leading up to the Paris GamesIt was around two years But I think I made a mistake I should have played a little more competition I should have played more events I was not ready I played only two events this year I should not have done that Despite his recent string of silver medals Kathuniya remains motivated to achieve moreTo be honest my hunger will never end Even if I hit 50m my hunger will not end I want to show the world that it was Yogesh Kathuniya who crossed 50m in a seated throw the first person in the world Kathuniya is now set to take a twomonth break and is planning his first solo trip to SwitzerlandI will rest for two months mainly stay at home I play a lot of video games After that I will start again I think my mind should be relaxed And I will have to go away from sports once So that I can focus more on mental strengthI am going to Switzerland day after tomorrow I am going on a solo trip for the first time So I want to see if I can handle it alone or notWith agency inputs