After winning third World Para C'ships gold, Sumit aims for 80m in future

New Delhi, Sep 30 (PTI) Sumit Antil on Tuesday became the most successful Indian in the history of World Para Athletics Championships, clinching his third straight javelin gold and straightway declaring that he would go for the coveted 80m mark.

Cheered from the stands by two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, the 27-year-old Sumit clinched the men's javelin F64 class title with a championship record throw of 71.37m which he came up with in his fifth attempt in a field completely dominated by him.

He broke his own championships record of 70.83m set in the 2023 edition, but was nearly 2m away from his world record of 73.29m which he had set while winning the 2023 Asian Para Games gold. No Indian has won three gold in World Para Athletics Championships.

Sumit said he wanted to break his own world record but he felt "soreness" in his shoulder area, and he had to satisfy with the championship record in the event meant for athletes with moderately affected movement in one or both legs or the absence of limbs.

He had also won gold in the 2023 and 2024 editions. The 27-year-old also has two Paralympics gold medals won in 2021 Tokyo and 2024 Paris. He is also the reigning Asian Para Games champion.

He is the man with the longest para javelin throw in history with his world record 73.29m but Sumit said his goal is to reach the 80m mark, which is also the standard for a top class able-bodied javelin thrower.

"See, we are trying to see how far we can go as a para-athlete. Because I have heard a lot that a para-athlete cannot throw so well. So, we are looking for an answer to that question," he said "No one had thought that a para-athlete can throw 70m when I started the game. Now, I am able to do it. So, we will try to throw 75m or 80m. In the future, as long as the game continues, we will try to throw 80m." F64 class has been held separately this time though on many occasions in the past it was clubbed with F44 which has some very good throwers.

"This is the decision of the organising committee, which category to merge, which not to merge. In this F64, the second-best competitor was very far behind. So, I was feeling like fighting with myself.

"There was not much adrenaline rush in the body. On top of that, there was pain, so we were going safe." He said he will have to fix his "soreness" on the shoulder area first.

"I will recover from my injury after a month or two. I will open the season in February. Because there are Asian Games next year. So, I need some time for preparation." Asked about the back injury he had earlier, Sumit said, "We strengthened the core a lot. There is no solution for it. Strengthening is the only solution. By strengthening, you can fix it.

"We have done some technical changes. So, there is no more load on the back. It was going very well." Asked about Neeraj Chopra watching him on the stands, he said, "Yes, it was very good. He (Neeraj) is the inspiration of everyone in javelin throw, who gave recognition in javelin in India, came to watch the match. It was very good. I haven't met him yet. I will try to meet him soon." PTI PDS AM PDS AM AM