Sumit Antil successfully defended his Paralympic gold medal in Paris on Monday with a record-breaking performance, achieving a Games record throw of 70.59 meters in the F64 men’s javelin final. Antil had previously held the record, which he surpassed during his second attempt in the competition.
He began with a throw of 69.11 meters and then broke his own Paralympic record with his second attempt. His following attempts included a 66.66-meter throw, a foul on his fourth try, and final throws of 69.04 meters and 66.57 meters. Notably, no other competitor crossed the 70-meter mark.
Antil made history by becoming the first Indian man and the second athlete from the country to successfully defend a Paralympic title. Avani Lekhara had achieved this earlier in the same Paris Games, winning gold in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event. Antil also joined Lekhara and Devendra Jhajharia as one of the few Indian athletes with two Paralympic gold medals. Jhajharia, currently the president of the Paralympic Committee of India, won gold in the javelin throw F46 category at the 2004 Athens and 2016 Rio Games.
As the current world record holder with a throw of 73.29 meters, Antil has also secured gold at the World Para Athletics Championships in both 2023 and 2024, and at the 2023 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China. Despite his success, he had set a personal goal of surpassing the 75-meter mark, which he was unable to achieve despite improving his Paralympic record.
Antil, who has been dealing with a back injury since 2023, expressed his struggles post-victory. “My back pain is not yet completely healed. I was feeling it during my last two training sessions, and today, I threw after taking painkillers. I have been competing while managing this injury,” Antil explained. He mentioned that he competed in last year’s Asian Para Games in China while battling the same injury and plans to focus on recovery once he returns to India.