Bengaluru: Two-time Paralympic champion Sumit Antil broke his own world record in the men’s javelin throw F64 category and produced a massive throw of 74.82m at the 8th Indian Open International Para Athletics Championships 2026 held in Bengaluru yesterday.
Representing Haryana, Antil put on a brilliant performance to win the gold medal, surpassing his previous world record of 73.29 meters, set at the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou. Antil easily edged out Maharashtra’s Sandeep Sargar, who won the silver medal with a throw of 62.88 meters. Rajasthan’s Sandeep secured his spot on the podium with a bronze with a throw of 61.83 meters.
The second day of the championships saw several impressive performances in the track and field events. Paralympic medalist Praveen Kumar won the gold medal in the men’s high jump T64 event with a jump of 2.00 meters, while Indian para-athlete Varun Singh Bhati took the silver medal with a jump of 1.84 meters. Tokyo Paralympic gold medalist Deepti Jeevanjee impressed with a winning time of 57.84 seconds in the women’s 400 meters T20 race. Maharashtra’s Dilip Gavit also performed brilliantly in the men’s 400m T47 category, winning the gold medal in 47.64 seconds.