How Sumit Antil nailed his second Paralympics gold

NEW DELHI: Sumit Antil was not in his best physical shape before his men’s F64 javelin throw final at the ongoing Paris Paralympics. He had trouble sleeping a day ahead of his event owing to a recurring back injury for which he took painkillers. The enormity of the occasion was also playing on his mind.
To stay focused on his goal of winning back-to-back Paralympics gold, the 26-year-old watched the Farhan Akhtar starrer ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ on an OTT platform in his room at the athletes’ village.
Sumit was restless and sleepless. He just wanted the final to start so that he could finish the job at hand. In between his travel time from the village to the para athletics venue at Stade de France, Sumit looked at a message on his mobile sent by India’s javelin superstar and two-time Olympics medallist, Neeraj Chopra, which read: “All the best, nervous nahi hona, apne par vishwas rakhna aur 100 percent dena (don’t be nervous, trust yourself and give your 100 percent)”.
That’s what Sumit did on Monday evening in Paris. He put aside the negative thoughts troubling him due to the back pain, remembered the last race from the movie and drew inspiration from his good friend Neeraj’s advice to successfully defend his gold from Tokyo. He set a new Paralympic record at the Paris Games with an impressive throw of 70.59m. The record-breaking flight of the spear made Sumit the first Indian man and second from the country to defend the Paralympics title.
“It was the culmination of everything for me. My long-cherished dream of successfully defending my title, overcoming the back pain which troubled me for almost a year, those sleepless nights, giving up on my favourite sweets and shedding 10-12kg to get fighting fit for Paris. I am happy that my efforts paid off. Now is the time to rest and recover and then start preparing for the Los Angeles 2028,” said Sumit a day after his historic effort which saw him joining an exclusive three-member club of Indians who have won two Paralympics gold — para shooter Avani Lekhara and current Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) president Devendra Jhajharia, who won the javelin throw F46 gold in 2004 Athens and 2016 Rio Games.
“Neeraj told me that the atmosphere in Paris is very good and it will be a good experience. But he also told me: ‘Don’t try anything new and stick to your technique’. Neeraj and I have stayed in touch for years now. I keep interacting with him once every fortnight or a month on the phone. Whenever we speak to each other, it’s about our sport, like we should keep doing our best and bring laurels to the country. His advice did wonders. It was also because we athletes sometimes feel nervous on such a big stage. It’s difficult to remain focussed on the technique. He must have had something on his mind and did not want me to suffer,” added the reigning world champion from Haryana’s Sonepat, who lost his left leg below the knee after he was involved in a motorbike accident in 2015. His world record stands at 73.29m.
Sumit said he will try to go beyond 75m in the next one or two years and is eyeing a hat-trick of gold at the LA ’28 Para Games. “To reach the top is easy but it is very difficult to remain there. I am focussing on top competitions like the World Para Athletics Championships next year to be held in India. Our (coaching staff) short term focus is on that. Normally in our game, we peak at the age of 31-32 years. I have won back-to-back gold in Tokyo and Paris and my endeavour would be to score a hat-trick in Los Angeles. One day, I would also like to cross the 80m-mark. That would be a special feeling,” he said.