Nadine Singh won gold in the men’s Javelin Throw F41 class at Paris-2024 with a new Paralympic record of 47.32m on Saturday, giving India its first medal in the category.
Navdeep’s medal-winning throw surpassed the previous Paralympic record of 47.13 m set by Sun Pengxiang of the People’s Republic of China at Tokyo 2020.
Although Sadegh Beit Sayah of the Islamic Republic of Iran surpassed the Indian athlete with a throw of 47.64 m in his penultimate attempt, he was later disqualified due to a rule violation relating to unsportsmanlike or inappropriate conduct.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect to throw that far,” Navdeep admitted. “My target was a little lower, but I hoped to do well and had faith in my coach. I’m glad it went well.”
“My first throw was a foul, but my coach told me it was a good throw, so I tried to improve the distance on my next throws. Two of my other throws were over 50 yards. I expect to do even better in the future.”
Navdeep, a left-hander, had two more chances to regain the lead but could not hold on until the end. But given the Iranian’s disqualification, it didn’t matter in the end.
Sun Pengxiang, the defending champion in this discipline, was satisfied with silver with a throw of 44.72 m. He was also a gold medalist at the World Para Athletics earlier this year. Wildan Nukhailawi from Iraq won the bronze medal with 40.46 m.
In the F41 sports class, athletes with a small body size compete.
Navdeep finished fourth, narrowly missing the podium at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, and again finished fourth at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou last year.
“This medal has a big significance in my life,” said Navdeep. “After years of waiting and hard work, I managed to make it to the podium at the Paralympic Games.”
“I finished fourth at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. I also finished fourth at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. I have finally achieved a place on the podium. I am finally happy.
“Everyone dreams of being successful on such a big stage. My efforts have borne fruit today.”
However, 23-year-old Navdeep turned things around in 2024, winning a bronze medal at the Paralympic Athletics World Championships.
This is India’s 29th medal in the ongoing Paralympics and 17th in Para Athletics.
In the other category javelin throw competition, Sumit Antil won a gold medal in the F64 class, while Ajeet Singh and Sundar Singh Gurjar won a silver and bronze medal respectively in the F46 class.
