Neeraj Chopra invited me for historic Bengaluru event: Paralympic champion Sumit Antil

India Today

9 hours ago

An unprecedented move from javelin star Neeraj Chopra nearly came through for NC Classic when he invited reigning Paralympic champion Sumit Antil to participate in his historic event in Bengaluru. Antil, who has won the Paralympic gold for two straight editions, revealed to India Today in an exclusive interview that Neeraj wanted him to participate in the able-bodied event.Sumit Antil, who lost his left leg in an accident at the age of 16, has dominated the para javelin discipline for several years. He currently holds the world record for the biggest throw recorded in para javelin history, which came in the 2023 Asian Para Games.advertisementSumit revealed that Neeraj wanted him to participate in the inaugural edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic, which will feature some of the top javelin stars from around the world. Antil, however, declined the invite as the original dates were set to clash with his Nottwil competition. Sumit himself has been keen on playing able-body competition, in a bid to reach his dream of throwing 80+ meters, a feat unheard of in his discipline.
"Neeraj bhai texted me for his event. But during the original dates of the competition, I had the Nottwil event. They were clashing. He invited me and said, 'Sumit bhai, I wanted you to participate in this event in Bengaluru and give Indian javelin a unified stage.' But we had to drop the idea because the dates were clashing," Sumit said in an interview facilitated by Sun Pharma.advertisementNeeraj's competition was originally set to be held on May 24 but was later shifted to July 5 at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.People not realising the scale: SumitSumit Antil had high hopes for the event and stressed that people in India still have not grasped how big this will be for the javelin and athletics scene in the country. He explained that the first-of-its-kind event will be incredibly helpful for Indian athletes, who will be able to test themselves against the top talents in the world."But see, the first thing is that people are not realising how big of a platform this is. Neeraj has given a huge platform to the athletes, to Indian sports with this competition. This is an A-class competition that is going to be held in India. People will be eligible for world championship qualification through this event. Especially for the Indian athletes, who will be participating in their home conditions, in their own weather, it is going to be huge," Sumit said.He confirmed that he will participate in future events if he is able to throw a distance of 75m+ regularly."For me, when I am in range, when I start throwing 75m+ regularly, I am definitely going to participate in this event," he said.On Sun Pharma initiativeadvertisementSumit Antil made it public on July 1 that he has signed up with Sun Pharma in a bid to thank all the doctors, especially those associated with sports, who help athletes recover from major injuries."This is a great initiative from Sun Pharma. Whenever athletes talk about their journey, they talk about family, teachers and friends, but I think they are not appreciative enough toward their doctors. In our line of work, doctors are very important because they save lives, they fix issues, but they do not get enough recognition. When I got to know about this initiative, I thought I would get to say thank you to the doctors for giving me a second life after my accident," he said."I have had a recurring injury since the Tokyo Paralympics (2021). I have been carrying a fracture since then. But I am much better now. My injury is healed, but I am yet to achieve a balance between the right and left side of my back. And doctors have played a big role in guiding me through all of that. I have been able to maintain my career at a high level because of them," Sumit concluded.- EndsMust Watch