Sumit Antil defended his Paralympic gold by throwing a Games record 70.59m in Paris on Monday. Antil surpassed the record, which was also held by him, in his second attempt as he put up a stellar performance throughout the F64 men's javelin final.

Antil started out with a throw of 69.11m before breaking the Paralympic record with his second throw. He sent the javelin 66.66m in his third throw and then copped a foul on his fourth attempt. Antil wrapped up the event with solid throws of 69.04m and 66.57m in his fifth and sixth attempts, respectively. No other competitor managed to cross the 70m mark.

Here is a video of Antil's record throw:

Antil is the first Indian man and second from the country to defend his Paralympic title, with Avani Lekhara having become the first to do so at Paris 2024 itself. Avani had won gold in women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 event in Paris after winning a yellow metal in the same event in Tokyo Games. Antil is also the third Indian to have two Paralympic golds to his name. Apart from Avani, current Paralympic Committee of India President Devendra Jhajharia had won the javelin throw F46 gold in 2004 Athens and 2016 Rio Games.

Antil is the world record holder in the event at 73.29m. He has also won gold in the World Para Athletics Championships in 2023 and 2024, besides standing on top of podium in last year's Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China. He had set himself a target of crossing the 75m mark, something he could not breach despite bettering his Paralympic record.

"My back pain is not yet completely healed, I was feeling it in the last two training sessions. Today also, I did my throws after having pain killers. I have been competing by managing it (my injury)," Antil said after winning the gold.

"I suffered this injury in 2023 and I played Asian Para Games in China (where he had won gold) last year carrying this injury. I did not have enough time to recover from the injury. I need rest. We will sort this injury after returning to India."

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