Indian javelin throw star Sumit Antil successfully defended his title by winning the gold medal at the Asian Para Games on Friday. Under his leadership, India secured three medals in the mixed men's competition for F42-44/61-64.
The 28-year-old athlete, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist and world record holder, won gold by throwing the javelin 72.46 meters in the second attempt. He competed in the F64 category and surpassed the other participants.
Previously, Sumit won the gold medal at the 2023 Asian Para Games, setting a world record of 73.29 meters. In May of the same year, he broke his own record, reaching 74.82 meters. Although he could not break his record in the current tournament, he managed to win the gold award.
Other Indian athletes also took podium places: Mahendra Gurjer won silver by throwing the javelin 59.03 meters, and Sandip Sanjay Sargar received bronze with a result of 64.48 meters.
Mahendra competed in the F42 category, and Sandip in F44. The ranking in the mixed competition was determined based on RAZA POINTS. Since Mahendra had more RAZA POINTS, he ranked higher than Sandip and became the silver medalist.
In sports such as javelin throw and discus throw, categories like F42, F44, F62, and F64 are combined into one general competition to provide opportunities for a larger number of athletes. These categories include athletes with various physical disabilities and competition conditions. Therefore, a scoring system such as RAZA POINTS is used to determine the ranking in the mixed competition.
Athletes in categories F42 and F44 have lower limb disabilities and do not use prosthetics for running or throwing. Meanwhile, athletes in categories F62 and F64 compete with lower limb disabilities and participate in standing competitions using prosthetics.