Sumit Antil soars to new heights

Paris, September 2

Star javelin thrower Sumit Antil became the first Indian man to defend his title as he won the F64 category gold with a Paralympics record of 70.59m at the Paris Games.

The 26-year-old world record holder from Sonipat bettered his own Paralympics record of 68.55m set in Tokyo while winning the gold three years ago. His world record stands at 73.29m.

Antil is the second Indian overall after shooter Avani Lekhara to defend a Paralympics title.

The F64 category is for athletes with problems in the lower limb(s), those competing with prosthesis or affected by leg length difference.

Earlier, Yogesh Kathuniya clinched his second consecutive Paralympics silver medal in the men’s discus throw F-56 event with a season’s best effort 42.22m.

The 27-year-old hurled the discus to the podium-clinching distance in his very first attempt to add to the silver he won in the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago.

The F-56 classification covers limb deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power and impaired range of movement.

Nishad Kumar clinched his second successive silver at the showpiece in the men’s high jump T47 category. The 24-year-old, who hails from Una in Himachal Pradesh, won with a season’s best effort of 2.04m.

Archers Sheetal, Rakesh win mixed team bronze

The Indian duo of Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar staged a remarkable comeback after the heartbreak in the semifinals to claim the bronze medal with a close 156-155 win over Italy's Eleonora Sarti and Matteo Bonacina in the mixed team compound archery competition. It is only the second time that India has won a medal in Paralympics in archery. Harvinder Singh bagged a bronze at the Tokyo edition.