Tajinderpal Singh Toor: Silver Medal at Asian Games 2026

Tajinderpal Singh Toor went into the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan as India's two-time defending champion in the men's shot put, chasing a third straight title. The final was held on 26 September at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium, as part of an athletics programme that ran from 23 to 29 September (see the full Asian Games 2026 athletics schedule).

Tayebi set the tone with a Games record 20.81m on his very first throw, breaking the 20.75m mark Toor had set in Jakarta in 2018. Toor opened with 20.26m and slipped to third when Tolo overtook him midway through the competition, before producing his best throw of 20.64m in round five to move back into the silver medal position. India's other entrant, Karanveer Singh, finished 10th with 18.40m and did not progress to the final three rounds.

The silver came after an injury-hit build-up. After a season-best 21.03m at the Delhi leg of the Indian Athletics Series in April 2026, Toor competed at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games with a Grade-1 calf tear suffered 12 days before the event, finishing fifth with 20.27m. Returning to 20.64m in Nagoya, and to an Asian Games podium for the third edition in a row, was a strong response.

Read our complete guide to Asian Games 2026 in Nagoya, Japan, check the Asian Games 2026 India schedule, and see where to watch Asian Games 2026 live in India.

Tajinderpal Singh Toor (born 13 November 1994 in Khosa Pando village, Moga district, Punjab) is an Indian shot putter and the national record holder with a throw of 21.77 m (also an Asian record until June 2024). He is a two-time Asian Games champion, winning gold at Jakarta 2018 and Hangzhou 2023, and added a silver medal at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.

Tajinderpal Singh Toor's rise from a farming family in Khosa Pando, Moga, to becoming a two-time Asian Games champion and a serving police officer is one of Indian athletics' most celebrated stories. Noted for his explosive technique and a national record of 21.77m that has stood since 2023, he has repeatedly pushed the boundaries of Indian throwing events.

Tajinderpal Singh Toor was born on 13 November 1994 in Khosa Pando village in Punjab's Moga district, into a family of farmers. As a child he dreamed of playing cricket, but his father Karam Singh and his uncle Gurdev Singh, himself a former Indian shot putter, noticed his powerful build and steered him toward throwing events instead.

Toor joined the Indian Navy in 2015, serving until 2024 and rising to Chief Petty Officer, before he was appointed Deputy Superintendent of Police with Punjab Police in 2024.

Toor won his first Asian Games gold at Jakarta in 2018, launching the shot to 20.75m to set a new Games record, which stood until Mohammadreza Tayebi threw 20.81m in Nagoya in 2026. Five years later, at the Hangzhou Asian Games (held in October 2023), he defended his title with a winning throw of 20.36m, holding off Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Tolo (20.18m) and China's Liu Yang (19.97m) to become a two-time Asian Games champion.

• 2017: Silver at the Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar and silver at the Asian Indoor Games in Ashgabat.
• 2019: Gold at the Asian Championships in Doha and gold at the South Asian Games in Kathmandu.
• 2023: Threw 21.77m in Bhubaneswar to set a new Asian and national record (the Asian mark stood until June 2024); later won gold at the Asian Championships in Bangkok (20.23m) and gold at the Asian Indoor Championships in Astana.

A two-time Olympian, Toor's 2024 Games in Paris ended in disappointment: he finished 15th in his qualification group (29th overall) with a single valid throw of 18.05m, well below his own standards and outside the mark needed to reach the final. His career had already been hit by a wrist injury around the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 (followed by surgery) and a groin problem in 2022 that forced him to skip that year's Birmingham Commonwealth Games, and he went into Paris with ankle pain. He used the Paris setback as motivation, returning to form at the National Games in February 2025 with a gold-medal throw of 19.74m.

Toor added the 2024 Asian Indoor Championships gold in Tehran to his collection, and bounced back from his Paris disappointment with a National Games gold (19.74m) in February 2025. He continues to hold the 21.77m national record from June 2023, which was also an Asian record until Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Tolo threw 21.80m in June 2024.

Toor opened his 2026 season strongly, winning silver at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tianjin with 20.05m (a new indoor national record, just 2 cm behind China's Chen Chengyu), before touching a season-best 21.03m at the Delhi leg of the Indian Athletics Series in April. He won the Sangrur leg of the Indian Athletics Series in May with 19.97m, but a Grade-1 calf tear suffered just 12 days out then hampered his Commonwealth Games campaign in Glasgow, where he finished fifth with 20.27m. He recovered in time for the Asian Games, where his 20.64m earned him silver in Nagoya.

Toor's Asian Games 2026 campaign is complete: he won silver in the men's shot put final on 26 September with 20.64m. His next competition has not been confirmed yet; this section will be updated once it is announced.

Toor holds the Indian national record in the men's shot put with 21.77m, and his best marks are listed below.

• Arjuna Award (2019): Received the prestigious Arjuna Award from the Government of India in 2019 for his outstanding performance in shot put.
• Three Asian Games Medals: Gold in the men's shot put at Jakarta 2018 and Hangzhou 2023, and silver at Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
• Indian Navy Service: Served with the Indian Navy from 2015 to 2024, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer.
• DSP Post, Punjab Police: Appointed Deputy Superintendent of Police with Punjab Police in 2024, following his Navy career.

He also won gold at the 2019 South Asian Games in Kathmandu and silver at the 2017 Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar, the 2017 Asian Indoor Games in Ashgabat and the 2018 Asian Indoor Championships in Tehran.

Toor competes domestically alongside fellow Indian thrower Samardeep Singh Gill, with whom he lined up in the 2026 Commonwealth Games shot put final in Glasgow. At the 2026 Asian Games, Karanveer Singh was India's other entrant in the men's shot put, finishing 10th. His main continental rivals include Iran's Mohammadreza Tayebi, who beat him to gold in Nagoya with a Games record, Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Tolo (the Asian record holder at 21.80m and bronze medallist in Nagoya) and China's Liu Yang and Chen Chengyu, who beat him to gold at the 2026 Asian Indoor Championships.

Tajinderpal Singh Toor's career matters well beyond his medal count.

• One of only four Indian shot putters to defend an Asian Games title, after Parduman Singh Brar, Joginder Singh and Bahadur Singh Chouhan
• Medals at three successive Asian Games: gold in 2018 and 2023, silver in 2026
• Holder of the Indian national shot put record at 21.77m
• A two-time Olympian who has represented India at both Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024
• A serving DSP with Punjab Police who has shown that farming-family athletes can reach the top of Asian athletics

From a farming family in Khosa Pando to a third straight Asian Games medal in Aichi-Nagoya, Tajinderpal Singh Toor's journey continues to inspire, with more records and medals still within his reach.