‘People now recognise me’: Tokyo gold medallist Sumit Antil on new-found fame-Sports News , Firstpost
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There were many discoveries made in the difficult year that was 2020 by Sumit Antil but one most important breakthrough was finding the right prosthetic leg that changed his life.
The year 2020 came with its fare share of lessons for Tokyo Paralympics gold medallist Sumit Antil. He learned to train alone, take tough decisions, and never stop looking for ways to improve amid the adversity.
He now looks back at last year’s challenges as an important factor in getting him the gold medal in F64 para javelin throw.
There were many discoveries made last year but one breakthrough was finding the right prosthetic leg.
Before December last year, Antil was using a prosthetic leg that is used by runners. This Ottobock Challenger negatively impacted his training. Because it is especially designed for runners, the leg has springs which resulted in Antil losing contact from the ground in the process of throwing the javelin.
“That (Ottobock Challenger prosthetic leg) was a big disadvantage for me as the connection between me and the ground would go missing due to the spring at one time during the process of the throw. The power that is generated from the bottom, from the ground, which is a huge factor in javelin, I was losing that power due to those prosthetic legs,” Antil told Firstpost.
It was not only affecting his performance but also hurting his back.
For these reasons, he was on the look out for a leg that could help him keep free from injuries as well as ensure a gold medal-like performance and in December, he found one thanks to GoSports Foundation.
“Arnav Bhaiya at GoSports Foundation told me there is one prosthetic leg that can help you in javelin. Let’s try and use that and see the results.”
It was the Ossur Cheetah Xplore that helped him in generating more power from the ground into his throw and reduced the injuries. But Sumit says he is yet to become fully used to the new prosthetic leg that won him the gold medal in Tokyo.
“I use a different leg in gym and in throw, I use this one. I may take more than five months to get used to it,” he said.
When asked what has been the biggest challenge for him as a para javelin thrower, he only talks about the pain. Throwing a javelin with an unnatural leg and keep doing it day in and day out was utterly painful. There were days when the wounds would hurt for a week and the wait to heal it would frustrate him but he got back to training again.
Antil says he has worked hard on fitness mostly at home in the last two years. He was not the one who was going to leave any stone unturned to prepare for the Games. At SAI camp, last year, when he saw his workout sessions not going the way he liked, he resigned from the camp, returned home and started training in his fields.
“I spent a few months at SAI and then I resigned from the camp because I was unable to do my workout over there properly. I was not getting the full diet that was required. Also my mother was not well so I decided to come back home. I have done most of the training at home. I did my technical workouts in Delhi,” he said.
Sumit wanted to become a wrestler but fate had something else written for him. The accident snatched his dream of walking in the footsteps of his idol Yogeshwar Dutt but he still feels the tackle sport gifted him one very important trait that helped him clinch gold. Power.
“Thanks to wrestling, I was blessed with good power in my body. When I started competing in javelin throw, I just had to work on technique.”
With the gold medal, many new changes have happened in his life. Sumit would soon feature in TV ads, details of which he can’t share, but he is excited for a couple of stints that are in the making. Who knows two of India’s two top javelin stars may come together in one.
“The way people have supported us is unbelievable. People now know me. A lot has changed for me. They recognise me in the public. I hope this continues.”
Sports Equipment Gifted To PM Modi By Olympians On Auction
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The mementos include the equipment gifted to PM Modi (FILE)
From the javelin of Olympian athlete Sumit Antil to the badminton racket of shuttler PV Sindhu, the central government is auctioning sports equipment of players that have been presented as gifts or mementos to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to the Ministry of Culture, the proceeds from the auction will be spent on the Namami Gange project, a conservation and rejuvenation program of Ganges.
The third round of e-auction, that has started on September 17, is underway and will conclude on October 7, 2021.
Athlete Sumit Antil brought home gold medal for India by throwing a javelin in the Tokyo Paralympics 2020. Antil registered a staggering record in the men’s javelin throw as he not only won the gold medal but broke his own personal world record thrice in the finals with 68.55 metres. Upon his return to India, he presented his signed javelin to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Now, this javelin is available for auction through the online bid.
Shuttler PV Sindhu who won a bronze medal in Tokyo Olympics presented her badminton racket to Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon after her return to India. Ms Sindhu’s racket has also been included in the list of items that are being auctioned.
Further, the hockey stick with autographs of the Indian Hockey team members that bagged a medal after 41 years in the Olympics in Tokyo 2020 was presented to the Prime Minister during their felicitation ceremony. Now this hockey stick is also on the auction.
Similarly, sports equipment of several Olympic and Paralympic winners including, Bhavani Devi’s fence, have been presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and are now put on auction.
Apart from these, many souvenirs, such as the replica of the Ayodhya Ram temple presented by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a wooden replica of Chardham presented by Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj, a replica of Rudraksh Convention Center are among the items which are being auctioned.
As many as 1,348 mementos are being e-auctioned in this round. The mementos include the equipment gifted to the Prime Minister by winners of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The last time such an auction took place was in 2019. In that auction, the government earned Rs 15.13 crore.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Finolex Industries supports India’s Paralympics coaches at Tokyo 2020
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Finolex Industries supported India’s Paralympics coaches at Tokyo 2020 this summer as the country recorded its best ever performance in a Paralympic Games.
India won 19 medals at Tokyo 2020, including five golds, eight silvers and six bronzes.
Never before had the country won more than four medals at a Paralympics - India won four medals in 1984 and at Rio 2016.
India won more Paralympic medals in Japan than every other Paralympics before then combined, and it had won only four gold medals prior to Tokyo, more than doubling its total tally in one sublime summer.
At a ceremony yesterday, Finolex Industries, a leading pipes and fitting company in India, handed a reward of Rs 200,000 (£2,000, $2,700, €2,300) to each of the coaches of the Indian team.
India won 19 medals and five golds at the Paralympics, including Sumit Antil, who repeatedly shattered the javelin F64 world record on his way to a historic victory ©Getty Images
The coaches rewarded included Mahaveer Prasad Saini, Satyapal Singh, Naval Singh, Lalan Doshi, Sunil Tanwar, Jaiprakash Nautiyal and head coach Satyanarayana.
Prakash Chhabria, executive chairman of Finolex Industries, said: “We are greatly honoured to host the Indian Paralympics team coaches at our ‘40 Powered by 40’ event today.
“As a brand, we understand the hard work and effort these coaches put in to get their athletes ready for competition and success.
“Hard work and reliability deeply resonate with the brand.
“We thank the coaches for the glory that they have been critical in bringing to the country.”