India’s Antil wins third successive gold medal at World Para Athletics C’ships with 71.37m throw in T64 final in Delhi on Tuesday; Sargar, Chaudhary win gold and silver respectively in T44 final; Kathuniya bags silver in F56 discus throw
India’s Sandip Sargar (right) and Sandeep Chaudhary after winning a gold and silver medal respectively in the T44 javelin throw final at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi on Tuesday
On a day when rain brought respite from punishing heat in the national capital since the start of the World Para Athletics Championships (WPAC) here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, India enjoyed its best day yet with four medals, including two golds won by the men’s javelin star Sumit Antil (F64) and Sandip Sargar (F44).
Sargar was joined by Sandeep Chaudhary on the podium as India grabbed the top two positions on the podium in the men’s F44 javelin event. But the medal splurge was started by Yogesh Kathuniya in the morning session, winning a silver medal in the men’s discus throw F56.
The final event of the day, featuring the Tokyo and Paris Paralympics gold medalist Antil, saw Tokyo Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra and rising javelin star Sachin Yadav cheering their countrymate from the VIP stand.
An ecstatic Sumit Antil; (right) India’s Sumit Antil during the T64 javelin throw final at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, on Tuesday. Pics/PTI
“I thought Sumit will go for the world record, but in the end winning two gold medals in the day was a huge achievement,” said Neeraj before making an exit amid a stampede-like situation.
An overwhelming favourite for gold, all of Antil’s legal throws went above 65m, with his effort of 71.37m on the fifth attempt breaking the Championship Record to complete a hat-trick of WPAC gold medals for the 27-year-old.
“My right shoulder was a bit sore, so I was struggling a bit during warm-up. But it came out well in the end during the competition,” said Antil after his event.
Antil’s dominance can be gauged from the fact that none of the other competitors could touch the 50m mark, with the silver going to Colombia’s Tomas Felipe Soto Mina (48.38m) and the bronze to Kazakhstan’s Rufat Khabibullin (47.14m).
Sargar equalled his personal best of 62.82m on his fifth attempt to win gold in the F44 men’s javelin, which is his first medal at a major world-level competition. He finished fifth at the last WPAC in Kobe, Japan.
“I am disappointed that I couldn’t go past my personal best,” said Sargar, adding that he has been throwing 67m and beyond in training.
Interestingly, the 32-year-old believed that cooler temperatures due to rain was a problem in terms of keeping the body warm.
“I think I would have thrown better if that was not the case,” said Sargar, who had an accident as a child, which led to a lower limb disability.
Chaudhary, who won a bronze medal at the last WPAC managed to change the colour of his medal this time to silver. However, he couldn’t match his gold-medal finish at the 2019 WPAC in Dubai.
He threw the spear the farthest on his fifth attempt to move up from the third to the second position with a distance of 62.67m, which is his season best.
“I was not thinking of a medal but had a belief that I will do well,” said Chaudhary.
Chaudhary has discus great Seema Antil Punia as his Indian coach and javelin legend Uwe Hohn has his foreign coach. “I stay in touch with Hohn online and also travel to train with him abroad with the support of government and private sponsors. He has helped me improve my impulse [crossover step at the end of run-up] because of which I am now easily able to throw past the 60m mark,” he said.
Discus-thrower Kathuniya added another WPAC medal to his name, making it four podium finishes for him now (3 silver, 1 bronze) in the tournament, but the gold continued to elude the Haryana man in the F56-category event.
Kathuniya registered his best throw on the second attempt, achieving a distance of 42.49m.
04
No. of medals won by India on Day Four, including two gold medals
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