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India javelin thrower Sumit Antil reigned supreme and successfully defended his gold at the Paris Paralympics with a record-breaking throw on Monday.
In the men's javelin throw F64 final, the defending champion broke his record at the Paralympics twice to clinch India's third gold in the ongoing marquee event in Paris. He kicked off the proceedings with a throw of 69.11m and broke his own Paralympic Record of 68.55m that he set in Tokyo. In his second throw, he bettered his Paralympic record by sending his javelin to a record-breaking distance of 70.59m, rewriting the Paralympic record yet again. Before Sumit, shuttler Nitesh, who discovered his passion in badminton at IIT-Mandi, added a second gold to India's medal tally in the men's singles SL3 category. Before him, shooter Avani Lekhra got his hands on the nation's first gold at the Paris Paralympics with a sensational display in the women's 10m air rifle final. Sumit's compatriot Sandeep tried to push his name for a podium finish and even produced a season-best throw of 62.80m in his third attempt. But it wasn't enough for him to end up at the podium after the conclusion of the event. He finished in the fourth position and narrowly missed out on a medal. Sandip Sanjay Sagar, another Indian athlete taking part in the event, missed out on a medal. His best throw in the event was 58.03m. Sri Lanka's Dulan Kodithuwakku walked away from the silver with an attempt of 67.03m. His best throw came in his fifth attempt which turned out to be enough for him to take away the silver. Australia's Michal Burian settled for the bronze medal with his season-best throw of 64.89m. His best throw in the event came in his second attempt. After that, he consistently hit the 60m mark but couldn't push his way through. (ANI)
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