Navdeep Singh won a gold in the men’s javelin throw F41 class at Paris 2024 with a new Paralympic record of 47.32m on Saturday to register India’s first-ever medal in the category.
Navdeep’s medal-winning throw eclipsed the previous Paralympic record of 47.13m, set by Sun Pengxiang of the People’s Republic of China at Tokyo 2020.
Although Sadegh Beit Sayah of the Islamic Republic of Iran pipped the Indian athlete with a throw of 47.64m in his penultimate attempt, he was later disqualified due to a breach of rules pertaining to unsporting or improper conduct.
“I didn’t expect to throw that far, to be honest,” Navdeep confessed. “My target was a bit less than that but I was hoping to do well and had faith in my coach. I am delighted it went well.
“My first throw was a foul but my coach told me it was a good throw. So, I tried bettering the distance in my next throws. Two of my other throws measured over 45 metres. I expect to do better than that in the future.”
Navdeep, a southpaw, had two more opportunities to retake the top spot but was unable to go the distance. But with the Iranian’s disqualification, it didn’t matter in the end.
Sun Pengxiang, the defending champion in this event, settled for a silver with a best throw of 44.72m. He was also the gold medallist at the World Para Athletics earlier this year. Wildan Nukhailawi of Iraq won the bronze medal with 40.46m.
Athletes with a short stature compete in the F41 sport class.
Navdeep finished fourth and fell just short of the podium at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. At the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou last year, he once again finished fourth.
“This medal holds a lot of importance in my life,” Navdeep said. “I have attained a Paralympic Games podium finish after years of waiting and hard work.
“I placed fourth at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. At the Hangzhou Asian Games, too, I took the fourth place. A podium finish has arrived at long last. Joy has arrived at long last.
“Everyone dreams of doing well on such a big stage. My efforts have borne fruit today.”
However, the 23-year-old Navdeep turned things around in 2024, winning a bronze medal at the World Para Athletics.
This is India’s 29th medal at the ongoing Paralympics and 17th in para athletics.
In the javelin throw event across other classifications, Sumit Antil won a gold medal in the F64 class while Ajeet Singh and Sundar Singh Gurjar won silver and bronze medal, respectively, in F46 class.