Double Paralympic Games gold medallist Sumit Antil lived up to his reputation by winning gold in the men’s javelin throw (F43/F44/F64) at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix on Thursday.
The star Indian athlete produced a powerful throw of 69.25 metres, comfortably securing the top spot on the podium. Fellow Indians Pushpendra Singh and Poonam Ram completed the podium, winning silver (56.91m) and bronze (49.48m) respectively.
Antil, who won back-to-back Paralympic gold medals at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and Paris 2024 Paralympics, said the distance exceeded his expectations.
“I was not expecting such a throw. I thought it would be around 67–68m, but it went to 69.25m. I am happy, and my team is happy as well,” said the 27-year-old from Sonipat, Haryana.
Eye on Asian Para Games
Antil said he is currently in a training phase and participating in multiple competitions to refine his performance.
“Right now it is an off-season loading phase. I am not changing my technique because we know we are moving in the right direction,” he said.
The three-time world champion added that his next big goal is the Asian Para Games later this year in Japan, where he hopes to break the 75-metre mark.
“No athlete has achieved 75m yet. I am working on improving technique and strength to reach that mark.”
India Dominates Track Events
Indian athletes continued their impressive run across track events.
In the men’s 400m T13, Subodh Bhatt won gold with a timing of 51.88 seconds, followed by Priyanshu Kaushik (53.19s) and Avnil Kumar (56.91s).
In the men’s 400m T46/T47, Bhavikkumar Din Bharwad secured gold in 49.89 seconds, while Jasbeer claimed silver with 50.09 seconds. Ivan Cvetkovic of Serbia finished with bronze.
India also swept the men’s wheelchair 400m T53/T54, with Manojkumar Sabapathi winning gold in 54.33 seconds, followed by Anil Kumar and Manikandan Jothi.
Strong Showing in Women’s Events
In the women’s 400m T11/T12, Tejalben Amraji Damor clinched gold with 57.53 seconds, while Lalitha Killaka took silver and Shalini Chaudhary secured bronze.
Meanwhile, Lakshmi won gold in the women’s shot put F36/F37/F40 with a throw of 7.76 metres, followed by Akutai Sitaram Ulbhagat and Chimi Dema of Bhutan.
Multiple Podium Sweeps for India
India also achieved several podium sweeps in field events:
Men’s Long Jump T42/T63
- Gold: Shailesh Kumar – 5.47m
- Silver: Ramsingbhai Govindbhai Padhiyar – 4.68m
- Bronze: Solairaj Jagannathan – 3.23m
Men’s Shot Put F46
- Gold: Rohit Kumar – 14.35m
- Silver: Devendra Singh Gurjar – 13.97m
- Bronze: Lokesh Akula – 10.92m
Men’s Discus Throw F51/F55
- Gold: Sahil Salim Sayyad – 36.83m
- Silver: Sukhchain – 30.49m
- Bronze: Sudhir – 28.78m
Men’s Javelin Throw F40/F41
- Gold: Sunil Kumar – 32.58m
- Silver: Prince Kumar – 31.23m
- Bronze: Kathir Dhanasekaran – 18.73m
India Continues Strong Run in Para Athletics
With multiple gold medals and podium sweeps across events, Indian athletes continued their dominant run at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix, showcasing the country’s growing strength in para sports ahead of major international competitions.