Paris Paralympics: Javelin thrower Sumit Antil wins historic gold medal with record effort

Paris, Sep 3 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) India’s two-time World Champion Sumit Antil made history on Monday by becoming the first para-athlete to win gold medals in consecutive Paralympic Games, claiming the yellow metal in Men’s Javelin Throw F64 with a sensational Paralympic Record at the Stade de France on Monday. Antil, the Tokyo Paralympic gold medallist, came up with a dominant performance as he took the lead from the first throw and never looked back. The gold won by Antil is India’s third in the Paris Paralympic Games, after those won by Avani Lekhara in Women’s 10m Air Rifle SH1 and Nitesh Kumar in Men’s Singles SL3 badminton. It also took India’s tally to 14 medals — 3 gold, five silver and six bronze medals, which put the country in the 14th position in the medals table. Antil, who holds the World Record of 73.29, broke the existing Paralympic Record with his first throw, hurling the spear to 69.11 metres to improve on his record of 68.55 metres set at Tokyo in 2021. He improved it further in his second throw, pushing the javelin to 70.59 metres, thus virtually sealing the gold medal as none of the other competitors came close to his first throw. The 29-year-old Antil from Sonipat, Haryana, who won the World Championship gold in 2023 at Paris and then again in 2024 at Kobe, Japan a few months ago, managed throws of 66.66, a foul, 69.04 and 66.57 in his remaining attempts. Sri Lanka’s Dulan Kodithuwakku claimed the silver medal with a best effort of 67.03 while Burian Michael of Australia took the bronze medal with a throw of 64.89. India’s Sandeep Chaudhary finished fourth with a season’s best effort of 62.80. A pre-tournament favourite for the gold medal in the Men’s F64 category, Sumit Antil has thus become the second Indian after Devendra Jhajharia to win two gold medals in track and field competitions at the Paralympic Games. He is also the third Indian para-sportsperson after Jhajharia and Avani Lekhara to win multiple gold medals in the Paralympic Games. —