Javelin thrower Sumit Antil won two gold in two consecutive Paralympics in the F64 category and became the first Indian para-athlete to win his gold. Yet, he is hungry for me and sets sights on the Los Angeles Paralympics, scheduled for 2028.
“As far as LA 2028 is concerned, I am 26 now. By then I’ll be 30. In our game, the peak age is around 31-32. It will be quite great to top the podium there too. The efforts will certainly be in that direction,” said Sumit during a media interaction a day after winning his second Paralympics gold.
Sumit won the gold medal breaking the Paralympics record twice.
He came up with a giant 69.11m throw in his first attempt to break his own previous Paralympic record of 68.55m set in Tokyo in 2021.
He improved further with a 70.59m throw on his second attempt. It was his best throw at the event. In his fifth attempt, he could throw 69.04m, again better than the Tokyo 2020 mark.
As has been his form, no athlete came close to his distance. Sumit, however, rued the missing the world record. The last time he won the gold medal was with a world record mark of 73.29m.
“I thought about bettering my personal best (the current world record mark). We get so many facilities so the push is to validate all that with performances that improve with each try. That’s our responsibility. The only aim is to throw better today than I did yesterday,” he added.
The 26-year-old won the Tokyo gold without any injury, but before the Paris final, he was worried due to his recurring back injury.
“I didn’t have an injury before Tokyo. A back issue has been plaguing my performance for the past few months. It will get alright, it just needs some rest but I was participating in back-to-back events and didn’t get time to give my back the rest it needed,” Sumit said.
With Los Angeles Paralympics still four years away, Sumit will now focus on the World Championships next year, which India is expected to host.
“My team and I view the event calendar in small portions. Immediately on my priority list is the World Championships next year. So the idea will be to perfect my body and technique as much as possible by then and give my best there,” said Sumit.