Who is Tajinderpal Singh Toor?
Tajinderpal Singh Toor holds the national record of 21.77m in the men's shot put event. Know the Indian shot putter's achievements and the medals he has won.
Athletics
A two-time Asian Games gold-medallist and Asian champion, four-time national champion, an Olympian and former Asian record holder, Indian shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor has enjoyed a brilliant career.
Tajinderpal Singh Toor qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with an attempt of 21.49m - a new men's shot put national record - at the fourth Indian Grand Prix in 2021. The 21.49 throw also broke the 12-year-old Asian record of 21.13m, set by Saudi Arabia’s Sultan Abdulmajeed Al-Hebshi.
The Punjab athlete has since improved the mark to 21.77m, achieved at the 2023 nationals in Bhubaneswar. Toor held the Asian record until June 2024, when it was eclipsed by Mohamed Daouda Tolo of Saudi Arabia in an athletics meet in Madrid.
Tajinderpal Singh Toor: Born into sport
Born and raised in a family of farmers in the Khosa Pando village in Punjab, on November 13, 1994, Tajinderpal Singh Toor’s love for sport came from his father Karam Singh and uncle Gurdev Singh.
Karam Singh was highly regarded in his village and neighbouring areas for the popular tug-of-war competitions but the major influence for a young Tajinderpal came from his uncle Gurdev Singh, an international shot put medallist.
Tajinderpal Singh Toor trained under Gurdev Singh in his formative years and soon the talent shone through - the young shot putter won state-level titles in youth categories and put up consistent performances in inter-state competitions.
Tajinderpal came into the national reckoning when he won the 2016 Federation Cup shot put title and defended it in 2017 with his then-best throw of 20.40m.
The Indian shot putter won his first international title at the Almaty Kosanov Memorial in Kazakhstan in June 2017 and a month later, won silver at the Asian championships with a throw of 19.77m, barely three centimetres behind gold-medallist Ali Samari of Iran.
Tajinderpal Singh Toor then won a third-consecutive Federation Cup title in 2018. It was good preparation for his maiden Commonwealth Games outing in 2018 at Gold Coast, but he could only finish eighth.
Tajinderpal Singh Toor emerges as Asia's best
Tajinderpal Singh Toor enjoyed the best moment of his young career at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, throwing 20.75m - a new national and Asian Games record - to win the gold medal.
On the day he landed back home, Tajinderpal received the sad news that his father had succumbed to cancer. It only pushed him to achieve the ultimate dream - that of participating in the Olympics.
In 2019, Tajinderpal Singh Toor won the Asian championships gold medal and later in the year, set a new national record of 20.92m to win his first national title.
After the 2020 season was disrupted due to COVID-19, Tajinderpal began 2021 with a 19.49m and 20.09m throw in two Indian Grand Prix competitions, both of which were enough to win the title and threw 20.58m to win the Federation Cup.
At the fourth Indian Grand Prix of 2021, Tajinderpal Singh Toor threw 21.49m to set the new Asian and national mark in men's shot put. The throw also qualified him for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics - his debut Summer Games.
However, Tajinderpal injured his wrist during the Tokyo Olympics and finished 13th overall, failing to make the final.
Tajinderpal also made the cut for the World Athletics Championships 2022 in Eugene, Oregon in July but had to withdraw at the eleventh hour due to a groin injury he suffered during training.
In September, Tajinderpal returned to action and continued to rake in medals both at international and national competitions. This included a gold medals at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships 2023 in Astana, Kazakhstan, the Asian Athletics Championships 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand and the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, the People's Republic of China.
Ahead of Paris 2024, Toor, again, struggled with injuries but managed to recover just in time to represent India in Paris. However, the Indian athlete failed to make the final.
Tajinderpal Singh Toor records and achievements
- 2017 Asian Athletics Championships - silver medal
- 2018 Asian Games - gold medal
- 2019 Asian Athletics Championships - gold medal
- 2023 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships - gold medal
- 2023 Asian Athletics Championships - gold medal
- 2023 Asian Games - gold medal
- Holds men's shot put national record - 21.77m
- Holds men's shot put Asian Games record - 20.75m