HIGHLIGHTS

• Sumit Antil won the Tokyo Paralympics gold with a world record throw of 68.55m
• Sumit hoping to represent India at the Olympics as well in 2024
• My peak is yet to come, I will try and get closer to 80m mark: Sumit

After having come up with a record-breaking spree at the Tokyo Paralympics, India’s javelin star Sumit Antil is hoping for bigger things. The 23-year-old had headed into the Games as the world record holder and he went on to break his own record as many as 3 times during Monday’s Men’s Javelin F64 final.

Sumit left his competitors well behind in the big final, making sure the Indian national anthem was heard at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo for the second time this month. Sumit started with a throw of 66.95m and bettered it with 68.08m. He then went past that mark in his penultimate attempt — 68.55m.

Sumit Antil is hungry for more. The para-javelin star believes he has the ability to try and redefine the limits of para-javelin athlete. Having gotten close to the 70m-mark, Sumit believes he can get close to 80m and even try going to as much as 85m.

Sumit doesn’t hold back when he underlines his ultimate goal. The Haryana para-athlete wants to represent India in both the Olympic and the Paralympic Games in 3 year’s time in Paris. In fact, Sumit had competed alongside Neeraj Chopra at the Indian Grand Prix earlier this year.

“Don’t be surprised to see me at Paris 2024 taking part in both Olympic and Paralympics. That’s my dream,” Sumit told the Paralympics after winning the historic gold medal on Monday.

Sumit pointed out that Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal in Men’s Javelin at the Tokyo Olympics with a best throw of 87.58m and that he is confident he can bridge the gap between the gold medal-winning throws at Paralympics and Olympics.

Sumit, who initially started out to be a wrestler before taking up para-javelin after a car accident in 2015, stressed that there is a lot more to learn in terms of technique and correcting minor mistakes in his throwing will only help him achieve his dream of getting closer to the 80m mark.

Want to go back and start from the basics: Sumit

Speaking to Sports Today, Sumit Antil said he wants to get back to basics and improve considerably over the next three years.

“If we talk about the able-bodied athletes, their Gold was won at 87m and ours is 68m and there’s a difference of 18-19m in our records,” Sumit said.

“My main goal is to bring down this gap as much as I can. In the upcoming years, I will try my best to get closer to the 85m mark. I will try my level best to achieve that and reduce the gap, in order to set a benchmark in Paralympics and change people’s perception of Paralympics.

“I firmly believe I can get closer to the 80m-mark. I am able to throw 70m. My coach keeps telling me that the peak for a javelin thrower is around 28 years of age. I am just 23 and I have 5 more years. I started javelin only 3-4 years ago. There is a lot of technical stuff that I can learn.

“I want to go back and start from the basics. I want to get over the small, small mistakes. Right now, I am relying on power to throw. To get to the 80m-mark, there are a few small things that I need to work on. I want to work on basics and technique.”