Antil leads charge, betters own world record in javelin

Sumit Antil rewrote his world record with a gold medal-winning throw of 73.29m in the javelin F64 event as Indian para athletes bagged a stunning 30 medals on Wednesday to mark another productive day at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou.

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The F64 category is for athletes with a leg amputation who compete with prosthetics in a standing position.

India's total medal count after three competition days stood at 64 (15 gold, 20 silver, 29 bronze) and they were placed at the sixth spot.

Hosts China continued to dominate the Para Games, their medals tally touching the 300 mark (118 gold, 96 silver, 86 bronze). Iran (74 medals), Japan (69 medals), Thailand (63 medals), and Uzbekistan (55 medals) were placed ahead of India. Thailand and Uzbekistan leapfrogged India on account of a higher gold count despite having a lower overall medal tally.

Out of the 30 medals that India won on Wednesday, 17-including all six golds-came from athletics with Antil leading the charge with a record-breaking show.

The 25-year-old reigning Paralympics champion broke his own world record on his third throw.

His series read an impressive 66.22m, 70.48m, and 73.29m. He fouled on his fourth attempt and didn't take the last two throws, but by then, a gold medal and the Asian, Games, and World records had been comfortably secured.