Sumit Antil wins gold in Paralympics: From wrestling to javelin throw, the incredible story of Haryana lad

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Tokyo, August 30: Sumit Antil fetched India the second gold in the Tokyo Paralympics on Monday (August 30) when he shattered world record in the javelin throw (F64 category).

But his road to a Paralympics gold was a wonderful story of grit, gumption and dedication. MyKhel takes a look at the Sumi Antil story.

1. Sumit Antil profile

Date of Birth: July 10, 1990

Place of Birth: Sonipat, Haryana, India

Coach: Naval Singh

Training at: Hooda Sports Complex, Sonipat

2. Early life and accident

Sumit, as many would like to be from the state of Haryana, wanted to be a wrestler and started training for the same. But on January 5, 2015 Sumit, then a B.Com student, met with a fateful accident in which his leg got crushed.

"When I met with a road accident in 2015, my wrestling journey ended on a terrible note. I was riding my bike and a tractor hit my bike from behind. I slipped on the road and then the tractor driver failed to apply the brakes on time and ran over my left leg," Sumit had said.

"My left leg was badly crushed. I called my parents and they took me to the hospital. The doctor said they would have to amputate my leg. My family members cried and I was so down and dejected. I was cursing myself. We didn't have any choice and asked the doctor to go ahead. My wrestling dreams ended right there," he said.

It indeed was the end of his dream to become a wrestler. But he was not ready to discard his dream to become a sportsperson. The turnaround in his life and career came when he met Virender Dhankar, the 2018 Asian Games silver medallist who guided him to Naval Singh, the AFI's para-athlete javelin coach and a Dronacharya award winner.

3. Sumit Antil's achievements

In 2019, Sumit broke the F64 category world record at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Italy and won the silver medal. He also clinched the silver medal at World Para Athletics Championships, Dubai, 2019 and there he again broke his own world record.