Tokyo Paralympics: India’s Sumit Antil wins gold medal in Javelin throw 

The 23-year-old from Sonepat in Haryana, who lost his left leg below the knee after he was involved in a motorbike accident in 2015, Antil dominated the show from the word go as he improved the World Record three times in the final.

Following this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sumit Antil and wrote: “Our athletes continue to shine at the #Paralympics! The nation is proud of Sumit Antil’s record-breaking performance in the Paralympics. Congratulations Sumit for winning the prestigious Gold medal. Wishing you all the best for the future.”

Australian Michal Burian (66.29m) and Sri Lanka’s Dulan Kodithuwakku (65.61m) took the silver and bronze respectively.

The F64 category is for athletes with a leg amputation, who compete with prosthetics in a standing position.

A student of Delhi’s Ramjas College, Antil was an able-bodied wrestler before his accident which led to the amputation of his leg below the knee. A para-athlete in his village initiated him to the sport in 2018.

He also competed against Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra in the able-bodied Indian Grand Prix series 3 on March 5 in Patiala.

He finished seventh with a best throw of 66.43m while Chopra shattered his own national record with a big effort of 88.07m.

He won a silver in the F64 javelin throw at the 2019 World Championships in Dubai.

Earlier in the day, javelin throwers Devendra Jhajharia and Sundar Singh Gurjar won silver and bronze respectively in the men’s Standing Javelin (F46). Devendra Jhajharia grabbed silver with a personal best throw of 64.35m. This was also his third medal at Paralympic Games. Meanwhile, Sundar captured bronze with a season-best throw of 62.58m.

Shooter Avani Lekhara had claimed the women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event gold in the morning.