How India’s Navdeep Singh Reacted To Iranian Athlete’s Disqualification Over Flag Gesture At Paris Paralympics 2024

New Delhi: Controversy marked the end of the final of the men’s javelin F41 event in the Paris Paralympics 2024 when Iranian athlete Sadegh Beit Sayah was disqualified after first winning gold for displaying a controversial flag during the medal ceremony. He was considered to have indulged in ‘improper conduct.’ This saw India’s Navdeep Singh, who originally won silver, upgraded to gold to confirm India’s 7th gold medal in the Paris Paralympic Games. While Navdeep was thrilled to stand on top of the podium, he added that he was overcome with emotion when he saw Sayah break down after being informed that his feat had been rendered void due to the flag display.

Also overcome with emotion at seeing his opponent in tears, Navdeep approached the distraught opponent and decided to embrace him in order to console him in his moment of distress. He had not known why the Iranian athlete was disqualified.

Iranian athlete Beit Sayah Sadegh has been disqualified for displaying the Hamas flag , It’s a belt treatment for terrorist sympathizer. As a result, Navdeep Singh’s silver medal has been upgraded to gold! India has secured its seventh gold medal in Paris! #navdeepsingh… https://t.co/cSl3klLHtP pic.twitter.com/ChSKub3CmI

— Kritika (@itsSSR0786) September 7, 2024

“I was so surprised when the red card was shown to the Iranian javelin thrower. He started crying. He was in tears and weeping. I also became so emotional that I went to him and hugged him. I consoled him. Until then, I didn’t know what exactly had happened and the reason behind this big decision,” Navdeep told Times of India.

The amount of joy Navdeep felt when he finally realized that the disqualification of Sayah meant he would now be awarded the gold medal was immeasurable. He felt extremely delighted with this curve of events and celebrated his achievement in a very exuberant manner.

“When I was given the gold medal, I was so happy. Tokyo is in the past now, Paris is the present. I am really delighted that I could make my country proud. I’m really happy I could add one more gold medal to India’s tally. People always remember gold,” Navdeep revealed.

“My first throw was a foul. I looked at my coach, and he asked me to remain calm. In my second attempt, I threw 46-plus. I turned toward my coach and asked him how much I threw in my second attempt. He said 46-plus. I was amazed because I didn’t put much effort into it. It gave me so much spark and motivation to do even better. And then, the rest is history,” he further added.

In the final, a scream of 47.32 meters by Navdeep even left him shocked. He said during training, he never crossed the 42 meters. Thus, this was an unexpected marvelous performance.

“I never imagined I would throw 47-plus, honestly. I don’t have any idea how I did this. Because during my training just before departing for Paris, I was throwing 41 or 42. But I don’t know how I managed to throw 47-plus,” Navdeep asserted.