Finance
Para-athlete Navdeep created Paralympic history on Saturday when his silver medal in the Men’s Javelin throw F41 category was upgraded to a gold medal with a personal best distance of 47.32 metres, giving India its seventh gold medal in Paris.
Navdeep had initially finished second in the discipline, trailing Iranian Beit Sayah Sadegh, who set a Paralympic Games record of 47.65 metres. However, the Indian javelin thrower’s medal was upgraded after the Iranian athlete was disqualified for violating World Para Athletics Rule 8.1 (Code of Conduct and Ethics).
According to the rule, “World Para Athletics (WPA) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, ethics, and conduct in the sport of Para athletics. All participants in the sport, including athletes, coaches, officials, and administrators, have a responsibility to uphold these standards and ensure that the sport is conducted in a fair, honest, and transparent manner.”
Havdeep therefore won the gold medal in the Men’s Javelin F41 category with a personal record throw. This is India’s first gold medal in the Men’s Javelin F41 category at the Paralympic Games. This brought India’s total medal count to 29 (7 gold, 9 silver, and 13 bronze). On Saturday, Navdeep began with a foul before throwing the spear to 46.39 metres on the second throw and 47.32 metres on the third.
After a foul, Navdeep could only run 46.06 metres before fouling again to terminate his campaign. Sun Pengxiang of China won the silver medal in 44.72m, while Iraq’s Wildan Nukhailawi moved up to bronze in 40.46m. Navdeep, a skilled para-athlete from Panipat in Haryana, has overcome the limitations of his diminutive stature to achieve in the world of sports. The 24-year-old completed his education at Unique Public School and Delhi University, where he studied B.A. Hindi (Hons.).
Inspired by his father, a national-level wrestler, Navdeep began his athletic career before focusing only on the javelin throw. He received professional coaching in 2017 and made his international debut at the Asian Youth Para Games, winning gold in the javelin throw. He finished fourth in the Tokyo Paralympic Games and suffered a similar fate at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou. Navdeep has five gold medals from the national level. In 2021, he won gold at the Fazza International Championship in Dubai.
Source:IANS
