 "Explained: Why Navdeep's silver was upgraded to gold and Iranian athlete was disqualified at Paris Paralympics?")
Indian para-athlete Navdeep Singh clinched gold in the men’s javelin throw F41 competition at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on Saturday. Navdeep, participating in his second Paralympic Games after having competed in Tokyo, came up with a best throw of 47.32 metres, eventually becoming his new personal best.
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Navdeep, however, had initially won silver in Paris on Saturday after Iran’s Sadegh Beit Sayah won gold with a throw of 47.64m, which was supposed to be a new Paralympic record.
In the final, the 23-year-old Navdeep endured three foul throws, while he registered scores of 46.39m, 47.32m, and 46.05m in his other three attempts.
However, just moments after the final, Navdeep’s silver medal was upgraded to gold, which meant India had won their seventh gold medal at the Paris Paralympics and their 29th overall.
But, why was Navdeep upgraded to a gold medal from silver?
The simple answer: Iran’s Sadegh was disqualified from the competition soon after completion because he displayed a non-state flag during celebrations. The Iranian could be seen waving a black flag with text written in Arabic. Sadegh was handed two yellow cards for the offence before being disqualified.
Sadegh broke rule 8.1 of the World Para Athletics Rules and Regulations (Code of Conduct and Ethics).
“World Para Athletics (WPA) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, ethics, and conduct in the sport of Para athletics. All participants in the sport, including athletes, coaches, officials, and administrators, have a responsibility to uphold these standards and ensure that the sport is conducted in a fair, honest, and transparent manner,” says the rule.
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More ShortsIndia para-athletics head coach Satyanarayana also confirmed the development after Navdeep was awarded gold.
“Iran’s appeal has been rejected and Navdeep’s silver medal was upgraded to a gold medal,” Satyanarayana said. “The result was released once again after the rejection of the appeal. This happened because Iran’s athlete breached the International Paralympic Committee’s code of conduct. He cannot use political slogans only the national flag can be used. He used the wrong flag, due to which he got disqualified. Iran protested, but the IPC rejected the appeal. I am very happy that Navdeep has won a gold medal. Indian team is doing very well.”
Sun Pengxiang of China won silver in the men’s javelin F41 category, whereas Iraq’s Wildan Nukhailawi clinched bronze. The F41 category is meant for athletes with short stature.
For Navdeep, this gold medal comes three years after he endured a fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Paralympics in the same competition.
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