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Standing tall at the top, Sumit Antil’s search continues for higher targets and better competition
Standing tall at the top, Sumit Antil’s search continues for higher targets and better competition
If Neeraj Chopra kicked off a javelin revolution in India, Sumit Antil did the same for para athletics. The two-time reigning World and Paralympic champion who also holds the world record in his F64 category has been consistently rewriting not just the record books ever since breaking onto the international para athletics scene but also raising the bar for para javelin and himself.
When the 27-year old steps onto the field for his fourth World Para Athletics Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday (September 30, 2025), he will be hoping to do something unprecedented — breach the 75m mark, something never done before in para javelin. Then again, no one had reached 70m either — before Antil did in 2023.
“My big target from the World Championships is to try and break my present world record (73.29m) and reach the 75m mark. A chance to compete on such a big stage at home may not come again for a long time and I want to do my best here. But it all depends on that particular day, a lot of other factors including conditions matter. I had hoped to do it last year also at the Paris Paralympics but the weather and track issues there did not help,” Antil told The Hindu on the eve of his big event.
The twin targets, in fact, are the only reasons for any semblance of excitement for the thrower who is so far ahead of the rest of the field that, if individual throws could be counted for medals, he would have swept the podium in Paris. With his F64 category — for athletes with moderately affected movement in one or both lower legs or the absence of legs below the knee — being separated from the F44 — for athletes with available movement moderately affected in one lower leg —Antil is aware that his competition has already been reduced.
“Most of my closest competitors are from the F44 category but this time they are competing separately, there is hardly any competition in F64. I think there will be a lot of difference in the marks. Honestly, to get that motivation of competing is being a little difficult for me. Only if I can break my record can there be some excitement,” a candid Antil, who has been training at the Sports Authority of India's Sonipat centre, said.
It has been a tough time for Antil since Paris with a lack of motivation combined with a search for higher purpose and bigger targets. It may not have affected his performances as much as his hunger to continue competing.
“If I am being very open, it is very difficult to keep pushing yourself or stay motivated to do better when there is no competition or no one close enough to challenge you. Because somewhere in your mind, you are aware that you may be able to win easily. It is crucial for an athlete to constantly keep pushing his limits but for that, competition is very important.
“Which is why I am trying to push myself to compete with able-bodied athletes. Although I do that often during training, I will try to compete more from next year. I know I have a lot of work to do, add at least 5-7m to my existing performances and get close to 80m if I am to compete at the level I want to. That is bare minimum if I want to stand with a good group of able-bodied throwers,” he declared.
It may sound fantastic for many. Then again, it was fantastic to dream of the things Antil has managed to do in the last five years. “When I started, no one thought a para guy would ever touch 70m. Now I am trying to push the mark and if I can touch 80m some day, it will be a good legacy to leave behind. It's a never-ending search to get better,” he philosophised.
At the moment Antil, however, is keen to put up a good show for his family here, who will be in the stands to watch him in action for the first time ever. “If we are hosting such a big event, I think we should also do our best and win as much as possible. Also my family will be there, they have never seen me live before. Watching on television is very different from being in the stadium, it will be good,” he said.
Published - September 29, 2025 03:04 pm IST
athletics / athletics, track and field
Source: TheHindu
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