Sumit Antil broke the world record thrice with three of his six javelin throws in the final of the Tokyo Paralympics on Monday. With this, World No. 1 in the F64 category, Sumit Antil won India’s second gold in the Tokyo Paralympics and the first in athletics.
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, sent the spear to 68.55m in his fifth attempt, which was the best of the day by quite a distance and a new world record.
In fact, he bettered the previous world record of 62.88m, also set by him, five times on the day. His last throw was a foul. His series read 66.95, 68.08, 65.27, 66.71, 68.55 and foul.
Australian Michal Burian (66.29m) and Sri Lanka’s Dulan Kodithuwakku (65.61m) took the silver and bronze respectively.
This was India’s 7th medal at these Games. Shooter Avani Lekhara and Sumit have won gold medals. Three more silvers have been won in Athletics, and one in Table Tennis. One bronze medal has also been won in Athletics.
Sumit had 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.
