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Paralympics: I had shut myself out after losing leg, recalls Sumit Antil

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Sumit-Antil

After years of living in the unknown, para javelin thrower Sumit Antil is the talk of the town right now. People in his hometown Sonipat are eagerly waiting for their hero to return. Every single media house has queued up to take his interview. After all, the young javelin thrower has clinched the gold medal (F-64 event) at the Tokyo Paralympics.

The limelight is a stark contrast to his life a few years ago when the para-athlete was in 11th standard. The teenager was avoiding people and had shut himself in his home. He used to only come out late at night when everybody was asleep.

It was 2015, when tragedy struck the budding wrestler. Barely 17, Sumit lost his left leg below the knee following a motorbike accident.

“I had no clue at that time. People used to look at me differently,” recalled Sumit while speaking to IANS exclusively.

“I had lost my leg and felt that life is finished now. I used to come out of the house late at night to avoid contact with people. It was so difficult; I went into depression. But then after some time, I realised the reality. And I had to accept it.”

Following the realisation of the reality, Sumit got his chance to turn over a new leaf in life with the javelin, when he came to Delhi to pursue under-graduation; giving a tailwind to his high ambitions.

“I was introduced to para-athletics when I was pursuing my B.Com from Ramjas College of Delhi University. Even in college, nobody knew that I don’t have one leg below the knee. I used to wear loose trousers. But later when my name came in the newspaper after I got selected for Asian Para Games, my friends in college got to know about it.

“Then I realised that now I have to prove what I can do. I remember I used to come by bus from Sonipat daily to college in Delhi and it was so painful. My other leg hurt a lot. I told this to my family and they arranged one good artificial limb which helped me. I spent from of my pocket to go to Finland for training in 2018 and it worked for me,” said Sumit.

Success soon followed as he clinched India’s second gold in the Paralympics by winning the men’s javelin throw F64 event with a world record effort. Australia’s Michal Burian won the silver medal, with the best attempt of 66.29m, while Sri Lanka’s Dulan Kodithuwakku took home the bronze medal.

In fact, the Haryana boy bettered his previous world record of 62.88m, also set by him, three times on the day. His last throw was a foul. His series read 66.95, 68.08, 65.27, 66.71, 68.55 and a foul.

When asked if breaking records is his hobby now as in the 2019 Italy World Para Athletics Grand Prix he also shattered the world record in the F64 category and backed it up with another record throw at World Para Athletics Championships, Dubai, 2019, Sumit had a smile on his face.

“It feels great. In every tournament, I want to give my best. I want to set a benchmark in the para games. I wanted to hit the 70 mark but it didn’t happen. It’s ok, I am happy that I broke the world record thrice on my way to gold,” he said. “During my qualification, till last month, I was injured but I worked really hard and it proved fruitful.”

International

CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources

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New Delhi, Dec 19: The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format. The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”

“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches.”

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.

Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.

Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.

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International

It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027

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India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December. The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.

The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.

This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).

It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.

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‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global

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New Delhi, Dec 16: Coach Sumit Bhatia is all pumped up for the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup scheduled to take place from January 13-19, 2025. Bhatia, who holds a distinct record of being the only head coach to have won the Asian Championship twice, believes that this historical step is an indication of the realisation of the dream to take the sport to the international level and help it gain global recognition.

Having been honoured with the best coach award by the Delhi government, Bhatia has been a part of various Indian teams’ success, including the 2016 and 2023 Asian Kho Kho Championship victories, and has trained players like Nasreen Shaikh and Sarika Sudhakar Kale. Both of them have been Arjuna Awardees.

Nasreen, who is also a part of the World Cup camp, is the only player who has played in two Asian Championships and won the gold. The coach-student duo is now gearing up for the global event.

Sharing how the journey of Kho Kho World Cup’s inception, the coach said, “We organised an international camp here before COVID happened, in 2020. Coaches and players from 16 countries came here and we gave them training. Now they will be coming here for the World Cup but this campaign started in that camp”.

He further said, “Around 30-35 countries were willing to play the tournament but we picked the best 20 teams for both men and women. Some countries have single teams while some have double teams but a total of 24 countries will be participating in the tournament. It was our dream to take Kho Kho to the international level and now we can see that our dream is getting fulfilled.”

He also lauded the launch of the Ultimate Kho Kho League and shared how the franchise-based model has helped the players and coaches gain recognition, while also bringing forward grassroot talent.

“When the Ultimate Kho Kho league started, I also joined Telegu Yodhas as their head coach and we also played the final. Players have gotten exposure through the league and it’s not just financial. Earlier we used to hesitate while admitting being a Kho Kho coach but today our players introduce us as their coach,” said Bhatia.

He added, “The league got so much coverage that wherever we go, the players are approached for autographs. So the platform of the league started a new world for both coaches and players and now not just India but the entire world knows us. Earlier we used to tell people about our game but now they know what is Kho Kho and Ultimate Kho Kho league and are also waiting for the third season.”

Bhatia also discussed the impact of sports science on Kho Kho and lauded the newly introduced technology and said, “We have benefitted a lot from it. Sometimes we don’t understand why a player is not performing well. But with the introduction of sports science, we now know about the details of the problem.

“For example, a player might be facing issues with his left leg while sitting and so, it gives us an opportunity to work on that weakness… Sports science has helped us in identifying the accuracy and weakness of a player. So it’s very beneficial for us.”

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