Paris: India’s Sumit Antil broke his record twice to defend his Paralympic javelin gold on Monday. Coming in as a pre-competition favourite, Antil broke his record in his first attempt when he threw the spear to a distance of 69.11m in the men’s F64 category. He bettered his throw in his second attempt to record a distance of 70.59m, which turned out to be his winning throw. With this win, Antil became the first man to defend his Paralympic gold. Antil also became the second Indian after shooter Avani Lekhara to win back-to-back Paralympic gold medals.
India’s medal tally rose to 14 with three gold, five silver and six bronze medals. The 26-year-old world record holder from Sonipat in Haryana bettered his own earlier Paralympic record of 68.55m set in Tokyo while winning the gold three years ago. His world record stands at 73.29m. F64 category is for athletes with problems in the lower limb(s), those competing with prosthesis or affected by leg length differences.
Sri Lanka’s Dulan Kodithuwakku won silver with a throw of 67.03m while Australian Michal Burian went home with bronze with 64.89m. The other Indians in the fray – Sandeep finished fourth with a best throw of 62.80m , while Sandip Sargar finished seventh with a best throw of 58.03 metres.
Antil continued his strong run with a third throw of 66.66m before making a foul in his fourth attempt. He wrapped up the event with throws of 69.04m and 66.57m in his fifth and sixth attempts respectively. Notably, no other athlete managed to breach the 70m barrier.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Antil. “Exceptional performance by Sumit! Congratulations to him for winning the Gold in the Men’s Javelin F64 event! He has shown outstanding consistency and excellence. Best wishes for his upcoming endeavours,” Modi posted on X.
