Rinku Hooda arrived in Nagoya after a personal tragedy last month. He lost his mother just before the Asian Para Games, where he was going to compete in the Men’s Javelin Throw F46 event and was a top contender.

However, his mother was certainly with him in spirit and in the form of a lovely photograph he held close just before stepping on to the field for the final on Monday, October 19.

And after achieving his dream of winning gold for India, Rinku celebrated the victory while paying a special tribute to his late mother. The Indian javelin star held the photograph of him and his mother high for the crowd to see the inspiration behind his win. And on the picture, there was a message for his mother.

"I love you, Maa."

Speaking after his win, Rinku said that it was a celebration that he planned beforehand and brought the picture with him to Nagoya specifically for this.

"I had planned this beforehand, which is why I brought my mother's photograph with me. I wanted to do something different this time, and I am glad it worked out," Rinku told RevSportz.

I won bronze in 2018, silver in 2022, and now, in 2026, I have finally won gold."

HOW RINKU BEAT AJEET FOR GOLD

Rinku was going up against Ajeet Singh Yadav for the gold medal. Both men were well ahead of their competition, who was Indonesia's R Saktyono, who took home bronze.

The shootout between the two Indians started with Ajeet being in the lead as he was able to nail a throw of 65.02 m in his fourth attempt.

Rinku had started with a 56.17m but quickly breached the 60 m mark. However, he was still behind. It seemed that he was going to settle for a silver medal but the final throw changed everything.

Rinku nailed a 65.11m with his final attempt, leaving Ajeet and the fans stunned to secure the gold.

- Ends