Sumit Antil, para javelin world record holder, believes in ‘thehrav’ (pause) before thundering again, with first target of 75 metres

“It was December 18 in 2017 that I first came to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the first time to train. So aap usko mere javelin jivan ki shuruat keh sakte ho mere bike accident ke bad. (So you can call that day start of my javelin after the bike accident),” the 27-year-old recalls. “While training on the synthetic track meant I could control the initial speed, when I first competed on Mondo track in Paris Grand Prix in 2018, I struggled a bit before I could adapt. The key on a Mondo track is to control the speed as imparted by the track and it was a bit tough initially to block the body at the throwing position. But as I competed more on Mondo tracks, I adapted and learnt to put the body in blocking position with the speedy track,” recalls Antil while speaking with The Indian Express.

Pushing despite injury fears

Between his first World’s medal, which came in 2019 with a throw of 62.88m to winning a silver later and onto Delhi now, Antil has furthered the world record mark in F64 category to 73.29m, achieved at the 2023 Hangzhou Para Asian Games.

Back in March 2021, Antil had broken the combined F64 and F44 world records. Compatriot Sandeep Chaudhary competes in the latter, and held the world record mark of 66.43m in the Indian Grand Prix in Patiala in 2021. Incidentally, Neeraj Chopra also created a new national record 88.07m there.

Months later, Antil would rewrite the world record three times with throws of 66.95m, 68.08m and 68.55m at Tokyo Paralympics to becoming champion. The Haryana thrower would then once again breach 70 metres rat the 2023 World Para Athletic Championships in Paris with 70.83m before bettering it again to 73.29m at Asian Para Games months later.

Last year, Antil defended his world title at Kobe World’s, Japan throwing 69.50m before becoming the first Indian to defend his Paralympics title with 70.59m at Paris. “One thing which I always believe is that one cannot chase meters. I am a firm believer in setting the technique right first and meters will come. Because if one chases meters, then the thrower comes in power phase and sometimes one can destabilise his natural technique. And this thing is also re-emphasised in my mind, whenever I see Neeraj bhai. He is one thrower, who does not chase meters or marks and his focus is always to give the best whatever the conditions are and the titles lands for him. Now he has crossed 90m but like he says it also means a lot of tweaks in his technique,” says Antil.

Prior to May this year, Antil had only competed in world championships or Asian Para Games or Paralympics. While the 27-year-old shares he has been in good mental shape, fear of flaring up the back injury, first encountered in 2018 and again in 2023, does stalk him.

“Initially, I had this fear of breaking the back or worsening it while throwing but then with time, I learnt how to tackle my body. Yes, sometimes, there is the thought that the injury can flare up again but then I would revisit my old training videos to keep my posture as well as blocking position like that and it helped me in Paris World Championships as well as Hangzhou. All these competitions I competed, taking painkillers,” says Antil.

Looking to find himself

This year, Antil started his season competing in the Nottwil World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Switzerland, where he won the gold with 72.35m, his second best throw of his career. Weeks later, he would compete in Atleticageneve, a world continental bronze competition for able bodied athletes in Switzerland where he finished last with a throw of 68.58m.

In July, Antil would once again cross 72m with a throw of 72.25m in the Indian Open in Bengaluru. Antil terms the current phase as something, where he is searching for himself or rediscovering motivation. “Kuch thehrav chahta tha main. (I wanted some pause). As I said, I don’t chase meters but there was something which meant that I did not get the push. Like in the Paris Paralympics too, the next best thrower made a throw of 67.03 and I knew after the first throw of 69.11m , which was a Paralympics record, that gold toh pucca hi hai before I made the new Paralympics record of 70.79m. But then there was yearning for more in terms of pushing my limits. And after the Asian Para games, I was not getting the bigger throws in terms of what I know I can throw and not in terms of meters,” recalls Antil, of entering the zone where his biggest opponent is himself.

The last six months, Antil would train under strength and conditioning coach Manoj as well as go on a vacation to Udaipur with his family including wife Sheetal and son Meet. He would also revisit his training videos as well as watch 2017 world champion Johannes Vetter.

“Each thrower is different and what works for somebody cannot work for me. So I would watch my old videos where I remained stable at the time of attack position and the body did not go left or right. Injury se bachate bachate thodisi body unstable ho gai thi (My body had become a bit unstable while trying to avoid injury). I would also watch videos of Johannes Vetter and I would observe a thing or two regarding body balance, which sometimes we cannot change as we throw or coaches tell us. Manoj sir would also work on the core strength where we would have hypertrophy (bulking up) training sessions,” shares Antil.

Home advantage

With the Khewra village, Sonepat-native set to compete in the worlds at home, Antil also believes a good throw here would also chart the next couple of seasons for him. Like in the past, Antil plans to go off-season post the World’s but with next year’s Asian Para Games as well as World Championships again and Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 in his sights, the reigning world champion wants to push the limits.

“People can term my multiple world record breaking as marks but I see them as how far I can push my limits. And whether it’s 75m or 80m, I am only preparing myself for what if there is somebody who can throw better than me. At the worlds or whatever stage and that’s what will keep pushing me here at Delhi as well as in the competitions next season and of course the LA Paralympics,” shares Antil before signing off.