After Neeraj Chopra provided the only silver lining to India’s underwhelming Olympic campaign in Paris, the country’s Paralympic contingent is gearing up to overhaul its record tally of 19 medals won in the Tokyo edition, and leading the charge will be another star javelin thrower Sumit Antil, seeking to defend his title.

With the Paralympics set to take place from August 28 to September 8, Antil, who also holds the World Record in his sport, is drawing significant inspiration from his able-bodied counterpart, Neeraj, who recently clinched a silver medal at the Olympics.

“Neeraj bhai’s 89.45m throw was a great effort. It was his season’s best and it came after he was carrying an injury. That says a lot about the man,” Antil said.

At the Tokyo Paralympic Games, Antil broke the world record thrice and his final effort of 68.55 metres won him the gold medal in the F-64 category (athletes with problems in the lower limb(s), or those competing with prosthesis or those affected by leg length difference). The Haryana lad will be challenging himself at the Paralympics, as he eyes the elusive 80m mark.

Revealing a few details from his conversation with Neeraj, Antil said, “Neeraj bhai says that I should not try anything new and just trust my preparation by staying cool and steady.”

Hailing from Sonipat, the 26-year-old Antil lost his left leg in an accident in 2015 but that did not deter him to dream big, and with support from his family,

The javelin thrower won back-to-back gold medals at the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris (2023) and Kobe (2024). And it was his quest for breaking records which saw him register the biggest throw in F-64 class – 73.29 metre at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games 2023.

The Indian athletics contingent of the upcoming Paris 2024 Paralympics, led by Antil, will vie for five gold medals, and a total of 12 medals, when it takes to the track and field. The first batch of the athletics team, including Antil, left for the French capital in advance to get used to the conditions.

India is sending its biggest ever team of 84 athletes across 12 sports to the Paralympics, with 38 from the para-athletics team. Antil and Bhagyashree Jadhav, who won a silver in Hangzhou Asian Para Games in women’s shot put F34, will be the joint flag bearers for India during the Opening Ceremony, which will be held outside a stadium for the first time.

The ceremony will be held from Champs-Elysees to Place de la Concorde in the heart of Paris. The Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics was also held outside a stadium, on the banks of the Seine river, a first in the games’ history.

Paralympic Committee of India President Devendra Jhajharia has predicted at least 25 medals from the Paris Games.

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