Sumit Antil
A javelin thrower from Sonipat who won Tokyo Paralympic gold with a world record, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2022.
Sumit Antil is a para-athlete who won the javelin gold in the F64 class at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, breaking the world record three times in the final. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2022 in the field of sports, from Haryana [1].
From wrestling to the javelin
Antil was born in Sonipat on 7 June 1998 and went to school there [2]. He was a keen wrestler, training at the Sports Authority of India centre at Bhalgarh [2]. On 5 January 2015, returning from classes, he was in an accident [2]. He then concentrated on his studies and joined Ramjas College, University of Delhi, where he was introduced to para-athletics and took up the javelin [2].
Records
He finished fifth at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Indonesia [2]. In 2019 he broke the F64 world record at a World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Italy, and won silver at the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai [2]. At the Tokyo Paralympics he won gold with a world record throw of 68.55m [2].
He has received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and Haryana’s Bhim Award [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2022: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 24 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2022: citation for Sumit Antil — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 24 October 2026.
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