Sumit Antil became the second Indian after Avni Lekhra to win back-to-back gold medals in the Paralympics. Antill and Lekhara both won gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

Paris: India's Sumit Antill broke his record twice to defend his Paralympic javelin gold medal on Monday. Coming in as the pre-competition favourite, Antill broke his record in the men's F64 category in his first attempt by throwing the javelin to a distance of 69.11m. He improved his throw in his second attempt to record a distance of 70.59m, which turned out to be his winning throw. With this victory, Antill became the first athlete to win a Paralympic gold medal. Antill became the second Indian to win a Paralympic gold medal after shooter Avni Lekhra.

India's medal tally has reached 14 with three gold, five silver and six bronze medals. The 26-year-old world record holder from Sonepat in Haryana broke his own Paralympic record of 68.55m set in Tokyo three years ago when he won the gold medal. His world record is 73.29m. The F64 category is for athletes with lower limb problems, who are competing with a prosthesis or are affected by leg length differences.

Sri Lanka's Dulan Kodithuvakku won silver with a throw of 67.03m while Australia's Michal Burian won bronze with 64.89m. Other Indians in the fray – Sandeep is fourth with a best throw of 62.80m while Sandeep Sargar is seventh with a best throw of 58.03m.

Antill continued his strong run with a third throw of 66.66m before fouling on his fourth attempt. He wrapped up the competition with throws of 69.04m and 66.57m in his fifth and sixth attempts respectively. Interestingly, no other athlete was able to clear the 70m barrier.