New Delhi: Days before the start of the Paris Paralympics, Sumit Antil received a message from Neeraj Chopra. “Don’t try anything new. It is a very good environment in Paris and you will have a good experience,” was the message.
Neeraj and Sumit emerged as the biggest stars of India’s Olympics and Paralympics campaign in Tokyo three years ago. Both won javelin gold medals and shot to international fame. Going into Paris they were on the same boat – feeling the pressure that comes with the tag of a defending champion.
Neeraj could not retain his Olympic title, but did exceptionally well to win silver behind Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who won the gold medal with a monstrous throw of 92.97m.
“Any athlete coming to such a big stage gets nervous and it might take his focus away from technique. Maybe, he wanted me to compete with full focus, or he might have experienced something, so that was the advice he had sent,” said Sumit, after retaining his Paris Paralympics title on Monday night.
Like Tokyo, Sumit dazzled while defending his gold medal in style. Though he could not breach his world record (73.29m) — he broke his world record thrice in Tokyo – his throw of 70.59m in Paris was too much for the rest of the field as he was crowned champion in F64 category.
“I felt the pressure was more in Paris because I was the defending champion. People had a lot of expectations. I enjoyed the competition. The big difference from Tokyo was the presence of crowd in high numbers.
“I have been nursing a back injury for the last one-and-a-half years. In Tokyo, I was completely injury-free. Javelin is a technical discipline and sometimes we are not able to execute our technique properly under pressure. I think all these things combined I could not improve my world record.”
It was a goal Sumit had set for himself going to Paris. He wanted to touch 75m while winning gold. The fact that Sumit is far ahead of his competitors – Sri Lanka’s Dulan Kodithuwakku took silver at 67.03m, more than 3 metres less – means that sometimes he is left to compete with himself.
“I don’t think any thrower is less than me. I try to focus on my game and how to improve. That’s how I have reached this far. You see the Sri Lankan athlete had a very good throw, and in his category (F44) it was a world record. So, you can’t take anyone lightly.”
On Monday, Sumit went all out to better his world record but in vain. “I was losing balance. After the third throw I felt pain that affected my technique. Sometimes the body reacts differently, but I enjoyed breaking two Paralympics records.”
In the three years since Tokyo, Sumit has dominated, winning two world championships titles and the Para Asian Games gold in Hangzhou with the world record (73.29m). “To remain at the top for a consistent period is very difficult. To win back-to-back gold medals in the Paralympics or world championships is very difficult.”
Sumit thus looks up to Neeraj, who has been super consistent, winning back-to-back medals at the world championships and breaking new ground each time he competes.
“Neeraj has been such a consistent thrower and he has set such high standards that he is always expected to win gold.”
A few years back, Sumit had competed with Neeraj in a domestic competition for the able-bodied.
“I realised a lot of things when I took part, like the difference between an able-bodied and para athlete. In javelin, ground touch is very important. My landing leg is my blocking leg, which is artificial. It is difficult to balance on that. Blocking is a very important part of javelin. I learnt a lot and have improved since that day.
“So far, it has been a very good journey. I have performed, but it’s been a lot of struggles as well with back-to-back injuries. Only when I changed my prosthetic limb was I able to tackle many challenges.”
Sumit and Neeraj are 26 and there is still a lot left in them to showcase at international level. “We remain in touch. We talk maybe once or twice a month. Both of us want to do well for India and make the country proud.”