‘Don’t Try Anything New’: Neeraj Chopra’s Words of Advice to Reigning Paralympic Champion

The Olympics may have ended on a disappointing note for India. But, the Indian Paralympics contingent shall be looking to overturn that and produce an inspired showcase in Paris soon. And at the helm of it all, lies javelin thrower Sumit Antil.

The Tokyo 2020 champion, who also holds the World Record in his sport, will be aiming to defend his title at the Paris Paralympics set to take place from August 28 to September 8. Ahead of the same, Antil is taking inspiration from none other than the pride of Indian Athletics himself, two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra.

In a conversation with SAI Media, Antil, who will be one of the two flag-bearers of the 84-member Indian contingent at the opening ceremony of the Paris Paralympics, stated that he is drawing inspiration from Chopra’s silver-wining effort at the Paris Olympics to fuel himself for his campaign.

“Neeraj bhai’s 89.45m throw was a great effort. It was his season’s best and it came after he was carrying an injury. That says a lot about the man,” Antil said.

At the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2020, Antil broke the world record thrice and his final effort of 68.55 metres won him the gold medal in the F-64 category (athletes with problems in the lower limb(s), or those competing with prosthesis or those affected by leg length difference).

The burly javelin thrower from Haryana will be challenging himself at the Paralympics, as he eyes the elusive 80m mark, and what better stage to put on the ultimate show than the Paralympics?

Confident about replicating the Tokyo performance, Antil, who conversed with Chopra, shared a simple piece of advice that the Olympian had shared with him ahead of the Paris Paralympics.

“Neeraj bhai says that I should not try anything new and just trust my preparation by staying cool and steady,” said Antil.

Antil, the 26-year-old hailing from Sonepat, lost his left leg in an accident in 2015. However, the support from his family and his resilience helped him overcome the tragedy to become a world-class athlete.

The javelin thrower won back-to-back gold medals at the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris (2023) and Kobe (2024). And it was his quest for breaking records which saw him register the biggest throw in F-64 class – 73.29 metre at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games 2023.