Paralympics: Sumit Antil sets new world record of 68.55M, wins second gold for India

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Bengaluru, August 30: Sumit Antil broke world record three times before setting up a new mark of 68.55 en route to winning the Men's Javelin Throw F64 category gold at the Paralympics 2020 to earn India its second yellow metal of the day after para shooter Avani Lekhara had earlier opened the gold rush by winning the 10M Air Rifle Standing SH1 final .

Sumit started by breaking his own record of 62.88 with an effort of of 66.95 in his first throw, only to better it again with another throw of 68.08. His third throw yielded 65.27 which helped him stay on course for a yellow metal.

That was followed by another brilliant throw of 66.71.

But then, what followed was sheer magic as hurled the javelin at a distance of 68.55M to breach the world record yet again to clinch the yellow metal.

However, it was disappointment for other Indian in the fray -- Sandeep Chaudhary -- as four of his six throws were deemed illegal.

Sumit's last throw was a faulty one, but that counted for little as he had already assured himself of the gold by that time.

Australian Michal Burian (66.29M) and Sri Lanka's Dulan Kodithuwakku (65.61M) settled for silver and bronze respectively.

The men's javelin throw F64 category is for athletes with a leg amputation, who compete with prosthetics in a standing position.

A student of Delhi's Ramjas College, Sumit 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 Neeraj shattered his own national record with a big effort of 88.07M. He had also won a silver in the F64 javelin throw at the 2019 World Championships in Dubai.

Overall it was a good day for India, who won two gold medals as many silver and a bronze on Day 7 of the Paralympic Games which begain in the Japanese capital on August 24.

The only sore note for India on Monday was when discus thrower Vinod Kumar was stripped off his bronze medal which he had won on Sunday, over eligibility criteria.

With Sumit's gold, India has seven medals in Paralaympics 2020 -- that includes two gold medals, four silver and one bronze.

The Paralympics 2020 Games concludes in Tokyo on September 14.

It was India's third medal in javelin throw in the day. Earlier Devendra Jhajharia clinched silver won silver in the men's Standing Javelin F46 event which saw a a rare Indian double podium with Sundar Singh Gurjar clinching the bronze.

Interest for javelin throw has certainly picked up in India after Neeraj won gold at Tokyo 2020, which incidentally was the first by an athlete from the country in track and field.