'It wasn't my best performance': Sumit Antil on Tokyo 2020 gold with world record throws

Tokyo: Resetting the world record three times on his way to gold in the Paralympics did not suffice for javelin thrower Sumit Antil, who vowed to better what was already an incredible performance by every yardstick. The 23-year-old clinched India’s second gold at the ongoing Paralympics on Monday, shattering the men’s F64 category world record multiple times in a stunning Games debut performance of 68.55m. He was a wrestler prior to a motorcycle accident that resulted in his left leg being amputated, before a new avenue opened up. “I was not that great a wrestler. In my area of India, the family forces you to become a wrestler,” he quipped. “I started when I was seven, eight years old, and I continued for four or five years, but not regularly. I was not that good.” “I met with an accident and had my leg amputated. After that, life changed. I went to the stadium just to meet people in 2015, and I saw para athletes. They said, ‘You have good height and posture, maybe you can be in the next Paralympics’. Who knew I would be the next champion?” He did become a champion on Monday, and that too, in the most incredible way conceivable. “This is my first Paralympics and I was a little nervous because the competitors are great. I was hoping for a 70m-plus throw. Thought, maybe I can do 75m. It was not my best, I am very happy to break the world record.” This was not the first time he was making the javelin travel far. A few months before the Tokyo Games, within a span of 20 days, Haryana’s Antil had broken the world record twice in the F-64 category. In his sixth and last attempt he hurled the javelin to a distance of 66.90 metres at the 19th Para-Athletics Championships at Bengaluru in March. The effort bettered his own world record of 66.43 metres, set during the third leg of the Indian Grand Prix on March 5 in Patiala. Both these efforts were, however, not recorded for world records. On how much further he can throw, he said, “In training I have thrown 71m and 72m many times. I don’t know what happened in my competition. “One thing is for sure in future I will throw much better,” said Antil. But he was definitely happy to have won the top medal at the biggest stage, terming it as realisation of a dream. “It is a dream come true. I can’t express my feelings right now,” the 23-year-old said.