Sumit Antil defends Asian javelin crown, leads India on podium in Nagoya

“My approach is to focus on one throw at a time and give each attempt my full attention. I try to focus on my own preparation rather than what people expect of me. Expectations are natural when you’ve performed well in the past, but you can’t let it distract you.”

“I know the work I put in and I know what I have to do when I enter the competition. The biggest competition for me is always with myself, I try to improve my own performance.”

Sumit Antil had these words as quoted by Hindustan Times as he headed to Nagoya to defend his crown. After all, he won gold in Hangzhou by breaking the world record at the time and has improved it even more in recent years.

At the moment, he is chasing a dragon named 75m like an obsession, but it had no effect on his performance as he easily won the gold in the combined javelin F42-44/F61-64.

Antil secured the gold medal with a best throw of 72.46m, achieved on the second attempt. The 28-year-old, two-time Paralympic champion and world record holder, dominated the men’s javelin in the F64 category.

Antil won gold at the 2023 Asian Para Games with an effort of 73.29m. He subsequently raised the benchmark to 74.82m in May this year. He fell short of his personal best on Friday, but his performance was enough to secure another continental title.

India completed the podium with Mahendra Gurjar claiming silver after registering 59.03m while Sandip Sanjay Sargar finished third with a throw of 64.48m.

Gurjar, who competes in the F42 classification, finished ahead of Sargar, an F44 athlete, after the order in the combined event was determined using RAZA points. The scoring system takes into account the differences between the classifications to determine the final ranking.

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