Sumit Antil wins javelin gold as India dominates World Para Athletics Grand Prix

Double Paralympic champion Sumit Antil lived up to expectations by winning the gold medal in the men’s javelin throw at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix , leading a strong Indian showing across multiple events here on Thursday.

The star attraction of the day was the men’s javelin throw (F43/F44/F64), where Antil delivered a powerful 69.25-metre throw to finish on top of the podium. Fellow Indians Pushpendra Singh and Poonam Ram secured the silver and bronze medals with efforts of 56.91m and 49.48m respectively, completing an Indian sweep of the event.

The 27-year-old Antil, a two-time Paralympic gold medallist , said the distance exceeded his expectations as he continues his preparations for upcoming competitions. The athlete from Sonipat explained that he had expected a throw of around 67–68 metres but was pleased to register 69.25 metres during what he described as an off-season loading phase in training.

Antil, who has won back-to-back gold medals at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and Paris 2024 Paralympics , said he is not making major technical changes as his current training programme is moving in the right direction. Instead, he is focusing on gaining competition exposure to achieve the ideal conditions for bigger throws.

Looking ahead, the three-time world champion revealed that his next major target will be the Asian Para Games later this year in Japan , where he aims to breach the 75-metre mark , a milestone yet to be achieved in competition.

Indian athletes also delivered several impressive performances on the track. In the men’s 400m T13 race, Subodh Bhatt claimed gold with a time of 51.88 seconds, while Priyanshu Kaushik and Avnil Kumar finished second and third respectively. In the men’s 400m T46/T47 event, Bhavikkumar Din Bharwad won gold ahead of compatriot Jasbeer , while Ivan Cvetkovic of Serbia took bronze.

India dominated the wheelchair category of the men’s 400m T53/T54 race as Manojkumar Sabapathi , Anil Kumar and Manikandan Jothi finished first, second and third respectively.

The women’s events also saw strong performances from Indian competitors. Tejalben Amraji Damor clinched gold in the women’s 400m T11/T12 race, followed by Lalitha Killaka and Shalini Chaudhary , giving India another podium sweep.

In field events, Lakshmi won gold in the women’s shot put F36/F37/F40, while Shaliesh Kumar topped the men’s long jump T42/T63 event. Further successes followed as Rohit Kumar claimed gold in men’s shot put F46 and Sahil Salim Sayyad triumphed in the men’s discus throw F51/F55.

India also swept the podium in the men’s javelin throw F40/F41 event, where Sunil Kumar secured gold ahead of Prince Kumar and Kathir Dhanasekaran , underlining the country’s dominant performance at the meet.