New Delhi: When everyone was busy in celebrating the successful Asian Championships at Pune with a grandeur valedictory function on Sunday, Indian shot putter Inderjeet Singh silently brought another cheerful moment to his countrymen at the 27th World University Games (Summer Universiade) at Kazan (Russia) by winning the first athletics medal for India.

The 25-year-old Haryana lad, who recently won the Senior Inter-State title at Chennai, took part in the Asian Championships and finished a commendable fourth with a mark of 19.31m on the first day of competitions at Pune (3rd July), before making his trip to Kazan.

Inderjeet Singh qualified to the final at Kazan with a heave of 18.70m in the Group-A.

In the finals, Inderjeet registered a personal best 19.70m to win the SILVER medal, the first for an Indian track and field athlete in the history of World University Games. His medal throw came in the fifth round. His series read as 18.29, 18.39, 19.36, Foul, 19.70, Foul.

Russian Alexander Lesnoi was top on the podium with a heave of 20.30m while his teammate Valeriy Kokoev (19.65) pockets the bronze medal in this event.

The Athletics Federation of India has commended on Inderjeet Singh’s performance and is confident that many more athletes will get inspired by his stupendous show in the Universiade and bring further glory to the country in the coming years.