Sumit Antil has etched his name into the history books as he has become the first Indian man to win back-to-back gold medals at the Paralympic Games. Sumit defended his gold with a new Paralympic record throw of 70.59m in the men's Javelin F64 event at the ongoing Paris Summer Games. Sri Lanka's Dulan Kodithuwakku won the silver with a 67.03m throw, while Australia's Michal Burian bagged the bronze with a throw of 64.89m.
Sumit had won the gold at the Tokyo Paralympics too. He is the first Indian man to win gold medals in back-to-back Paralympic Games. Avani Lekhara is the first Indian after she defended her shooting gold in Paris.
The Indian Javelin star Sumit got to his second gold with a huge throw of 70.59m in his second attempt as he broke his own Paralympic record twice in the F64 category. He held the previous Paralympics record of 68.55m, which he broke in his first attempt of 69.11m.
He hurled his Javelin to his event's best throw of 70.59m before hitting the distance of 66.66m in his next attempt. He fouled in his fourth attempt, before hitting 69.94m and 66.57m in his next two attempts.
There were two more Indians in the final - Sandeep and Sandip Sanjay Sargar. Sandeep finished fourth with a season-best throw of 62.80m, while Sandip Sanjay was seventh with a throw of 58.03m throw.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sumit for his 'exceptional performance' at the ongoing Summer Games. "Exceptional performance by Sumit! Congratulations to him for winning the Gold in the Men's Javelin F64 event! He has shown outstanding consistency and excellence. Best wishes for his upcoming endeavours," Modi posted on X.
This was India's third gold medal at the Paralympics 2024 after Nitesh Kumar and Avani Lekhara won gold in their respective events. Nitesh defeated Great Britain's Daniel Bethell in the men's singles SL3 event to clinch the gold medal at the Paris Paralympic Games 2024. Avani had won a gold medal in the R2 - Women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event.
