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Sumit Antil (born 6 July 1998) is an Indian paralympian and javelin thrower. He won gold medals in men's javelin throw F64 category at the 2020 Summer Paralympics and the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships. He holds the current world record, having thrown 70.83 meters at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris.
Early life
Sumit Antil was born on 6 July 1998 in Khewra, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Born in Antil clan (sub-clan) of Tomar Jats. Young Sumit wanted to pursue a career in wrestling and join Indian Army. In 2015, when he was 17, his motorbike was hit by a speeding truck while he was returning home from training. As a result, his left leg was amputated and he had to abandon his dream of becoming a wrestler. Sumit is supported by the GoSports Foundation through the Para Champions Programme. After completing his secondary education in Dev Rishi Senior Secondary School, Sonipat, Antil was introduced to Para athletics by another para athlete, Rajkumar, while he was pursuing his B.Com from Ramjas college of Delhi University.
In 2017, Antil started training under Nitin Jaiswal in Delhi, and competed in various National and International platforms. He began competing at javelin on the National circuit and GoSports inducted him into the Para Champions Programme in 2019.
Career
In 2019, at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Italy, he broke the world record in the F64 category en route to winning the Silver medal in the Combined Event. He then won the Silver medal at World Para Athletics Championships, Dubai, 2019 and in the process broke his own world record in the F64 category.
On 30 August 2021, Antil won a gold medal with a World Record throw of 68.55m in javelin throw F64 at 2020 Summer Paralympics. Competing in the Indian Open National Para Athletics Championships, Antil rewrote the world record for the fourth time in a year with a throw of 68.62 meters, breaking his own mark of 68.55 meters. Three of these marks were astonishingly set during the final of the Tokyo paralympics en route to winning gold.
Personal life
Sumit Antil's family consists of his mother, Niramala Devi, and three sisters, Kiran, Sushila & Renu. His father, Ram Kumar, died when he was seven.
Awards
- 2021 – Khel Ratna Award, highest sporting honour of India.
- 2022 – Padma Shri Award, fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India.