It was a fantastic day for Indian javelin at the IndianOil New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Tuesday.
First up, Sandip Sanjay Sargar and Sandeep Choudhary secured gold and silver for the nation in the F44 category and then shortly after Sumit claimed gold with a championship record in the F64 category. It may be noted that on Monday, Rinku and Sundar Singh Gurjar had also secured gold and silver in the F46 category.
While the F64 event was in progress, the news of Tokyo Olympic gold winner Neeraj Chopra being in attendance for the Sumit event spread like wildfire.
A mad scramble ensued among the mediamen who wanted to interview him. But nobody was sure if the poster boy for Indian javelin would agree to speak to them. Finally, to every one’s great delight, the Paris Olympics silver medallist agreed to speak. Not just the mediamen, the spectators also went crazy with ecstasy upon seeing Chopra. It has to be said that the stadium came to life with Neeraj’s presence.
Neeraj was pleased with India’s performance in the championships and made a special request. “As it is, life is very difficult for these para-athletes and then they are competing here. It’s a remarkable thing. More and more people should turn up and watch these extraordinary athletes in action,” Neeraj said.
Up-and-coming star Sachin Yadav was also in the stands to watch Sumit in action. When Neeraj was asked if he had any advice for Sachin, the 27-year-old said: “I have no advice for him. He is already doing very well. I think he knows what it takes.”
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