All posts tagged: Paralympic

Paralympic champion Sumit Antil sets new world record in men’s Javelin

Paralympic champion Sumit Antil sets new world record in men’s Javelin

Published by Webster

Two-time Paralympic champion Sumit Antil bettered his own World record in the men’s F64 Javelin throw event at the Indian Open Para Athletics Championships in Bengaluru on Wednesday. He unleashed a massive 74.82m throw in his fifth attempt to improve on his personal best and previous world record of 73.29m to win the title. “I was wondering why I wasn’t able to better it (World Record) in competition. It’s been so long, but today I came here just to do my personal best,” said Sumit to the Bridge after his world record. #News | A new Personal Best for Sumit Antil. The Paralympic champion unleashed a massive 74.82m throw at the Indian Open Para Athletics Championships in Bengaluru. It will also count as a new World Record if ratified by World Para Athletics.#Parathletics #Javelinthrow📷Getty pic.twitter.com/hUjPCZsDKk — The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) May 27, 2026 Sumit had last set the world record at the 2023 Asian Para Games in China. Three years later, he has now improved his own world record for the seventh time with a huge …

Paralympic Committee of India terminates Naval Singh after abuse allegations

Paralympic Committee of India terminates Naval Singh after abuse allegations

Published by Webster

The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) terminated the services of Dronacharya awardee Naval Singh on Saturday. This development comes just a day after The Bridge reported that India’s top javelin throwers’ plea to the Sports Authority of India (SAI), alleging mental harassment by Naval Singh, had been brushed under the carpet. The PCI held an emergency meeting on Saturday, led by President Devendra Jhajharia, who is also a fromer para javelin thrower. “The Committee unanimously decided to terminate the services of coach Naval Singh with immediate effect and remove him from all Paralympic Committee activities,” said PCI in a letter addressed to the coach. Earlier in an email, which is in possession of The Bridge, PCI Secretary General Jayawant G H, wrote to the javelin throwers: “In this context, we would like to state clearly that since 2025, Mr. Naval Singh is not designated as the Coach of Para Athletics by the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI). Consequently, his name has not been recommended by PCI for any Championship.” “The Paralympic Committee of India has …

Paralympic medalist archer Rakesh Kumar pleads for justice

Paralympic medalist archer Rakesh Kumar pleads for justice

Published by Webster

When a World No. 1 para archer is forced to appeal to the media and the government over a missed job opportunity, it raises uncomfortable questions about a nation that dreams of becoming a global sporting powerhouse. A week ago, the Jammu & Kashmir government released a list of 222 selected candidates to fill vacancies from 2014 to 2022 under the Meritorious Sportspersons in accordance with the 2022 rules. But, one obvious name that was overlooked was that of para archer Rakesh Kumar, the current world no 1 para archer and Paralympic bronze medalist from the 2024 Paris Paralympics. “The advertisement came out in 2022, and I applied for it. The state government released a list of 222 people, which includes 5 Gazetted and 217 non-gazetted posts. But my name is not there. My only question is on what basis I was not included?” the 41-year-old questioned during an exclusive conversation with The Bridge on Thursday. “I am an Olympic medallist from J&K. I am an Arjuna awardee. Even then, if I am being ignored, …

Naveen stuns 2-time Paralympic champion

Naveen stuns 2-time Paralympic champion

Published by Webster

Para shuttler Naveen Sivakumar stunned the two-time Paralympic Champion Lucas Mazur to clinch the title at Indonesia Para Badminton International on Sunday. He took his first-ever win against the Frenchman in their fifth meeting to clinch the MS SL4 title with a fighting three-game, 17-21, 23-21, 21-12, victory. Naveen continued his great year, having won his second singles title here after the Spanish Para Badminton International and also had an Asian bronze medal. Nithya, Manisha and Nitesh bag Individual titles India continued its dominance in other categories as Nithya Sre Sivan (SH6), Manisha Ramadass (SU5), and Nitesh Kumar (SL3) also bagged individual titles. Nithya got the better of Peruan Giuliana Poved in the final, 21-14, 21-13. Meanwhile, Paralympic champion Nitesh Kumar received a walkover against Daniel Bethell in the final. On the other hand, Manisha Ramadass got the better (12-21, 22-20, 21-14) of her fellow compatriot Thulasimathi Murugesan in the final to bag her fourth title of the year. Later in the day, the duo of Sukant Kadam and Pramod Bhagat clinched the men’s doubles …

Archer Payal Nag, 17, aims Paralympic glory

Archer Payal Nag, 17, aims Paralympic glory

Published by Webster

A tweet for help changed the fortunes of teenager Payal Nag. As a child, the girl from Balangir, Odisha, lost both her arms and legs when she was accidentally electrocuted. Her family, living hand-to-mouth, dropped her off at an orphanage, where they hoped she would get all the required support. It was from there, the confines of an orphanage, that Payal’s cry for help via social media reached a coach more than 2,000km away. Kuldeep Vedwan, the coach of Paralympic bronze medallist Sheetal Devi, read the tweet and travelled to Balangir. The veteran trainer hoped that by bringing her to his academy in Katra, sports could become Payal’s way out of a life full of struggle. Story continues below this ad The leap of faith paid off. On Sunday, Vedwan’s protege will face arguably his most famous ward, Sheetal, in the final of the Khelo India Para Games. “I saw a tweet asking for help for Payal, and that is when I knew I could help her become a para-archer,” Kuldeep said. After spotting Payal …

Miniscule participation in most events at World Para Athletics Grand Prix, but organisers say that’s ok

Miniscule participation in most events at World Para Athletics Grand Prix, but organisers say that’s ok

Published by Webster

Anil Prasanna of Sri Lanka ran alone in the men’s 100m T42 event at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in New Delhi and won the gold medal. Similarly, Women’s 100m T54 had only one participant (India’s Kiran Sriram Metkar ) while men’s Javelin Throw F 33-34 had one participant from India (Devershree Sachan) and Uzbekistan (Oybek Egamnazarov). There were events like men’s Discus throw F44-64, where three Indians Devender Kumar, Pardeep Kumar, and Devendra Gahlot participated and finished on the podium. Story continues below this ad Despite such scant participation in most events, medals were given to everyone and ranking points were also counted as per the World Para Athletics website. While this is the first time India was hosting an event of such stature in Para Athletics, the absence of elite Indian para athletes painted a grim picture. There were several reasons for this, one of them being the late inclusion of the event in the calendar. “This event was not in our plans. I had trained for just two weeks and ran …

Miniscule participation in most events at World Para Athletics Grand Prix, but organisers say that’s ok

Miniscule participation in most events at World Para Athletics Grand Prix, but organisers say that’s ok

Published by Webster

Anil Prasanna of Sri Lanka ran alone in the men’s 100m T42 event at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in New Delhi and won the gold medal. Similarly, Women’s 100m T54 had only one participant (India’s Kiran Sriram Metkar ) while men’s Javelin Throw F 33-34 had one participant from India (Devershree Sachan) and Uzbekistan (Oybek Egamnazarov). There were events like men’s Discus throw F44-64, where three Indians Devender Kumar, Pardeep Kumar, and Devendra Gahlot participated and finished on the podium. Story continues below this ad Despite such scant participation in most events, medals were given to everyone and ranking points were also counted as per the World Para Athletics website. While this is the first time India was hosting an event of such stature in Para Athletics, the absence of elite Indian para athletes painted a grim picture. There were several reasons for this, one of them being the late inclusion of the event in the calendar. “This event was not in our plans. I had trained for just two weeks and ran …

I see pride in my son’s eyes, says three-time Paralympic gold medalist Vanessa Low

I see pride in my son’s eyes, says three-time Paralympic gold medalist Vanessa Low

Published by Webster

Three-time Paralympic gold medalist and reigning world champion long jumper Vanessa Low’s day starts with waking up her toddler Matteo, followed by her commitments as a full-time athlete. Four track and six gym sessions during the week, a little bit of pilates and recovery sessions consume a large portion of her time. The Australian has had two above-knee amputations of her legs while her husband Paralympic gold medallist Scott Reardon has one prosthetic leg. Her three-year-old son, she says, is the odd one out in the family and has friends that are inquisitive of his parent’s prosthetics. The 34-year-old made her international debut at the World Games in Bangalore representing Germany 16 years ago. The sport and Vanessa have come a long way since. And despite having achieved almost everything that the sport offers, Vanessa is still hungry – for one more Olympics and another 6-meter mark. Vanessa opened up to The Bridge on the sidelines of the World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2025. Excerpts from an interview: Having a toddler at home, what efforts …

Paralympic champion Harvinder Singh fails to reach final

Paralympic champion Harvinder Singh fails to reach final

Published by Webster

Indian para-archers had a mixed day in the individual elimination round of the 2025 Asia Archery Para Cup as Paralympic medallists Rakesh Kumar and Harvinder Singh missed out on the final in Thailand on Saturday. On the other hand, three Indian archers made their way into the final, which is scheduled for Monday. Harvinder into the Bronze medal match The top-seeded Harvinder Singh had a great start to the competition as he made his way to the semi-final with a dominant 7-3 win against Indonesian archer Setiawan in the men’s recurve open category. However, he failed to maintain that in the semi-final, despite winning the opening two sets, facing a disappointing 4-6 defeat to Hanreuchai Netsiri of Thailand. Netsiri shot brilliant scores in the final two sets (29, 28) to seal the match. Harvinder will now take on Nurfaizal Hamzah of Malaysia in the bronze medal match on Monday. Harvinder, partnering with Pooja, will also compete in the mixed-team elimination round on Sunday. Three Indians in the final India also made it to the final …

Bihar CM felicitates Olympians, Paralympic athletes

Bihar CM felicitates Olympians, Paralympic athletes

Published by Parlour News

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar presenting the Sportstar Young Achiever Award to Mohd Reyan during the Sports Conclave focus Bihar at Patna on January 24, 2025.. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar felicitated athletes and para-athletes for their achievements and contributions to their respective sporting disciplines, during the Sportstar Focus Bihar Conclave held at the Taj City Centre in Patna on Friday (January 24, 2025). The players felicitated included Paralympic silver medallist Deepa Malik, Olympic bronze medal-winning boxer Vijender Singh, double Olympic bronze medallist P.R. Sreejesh, double Paralympic medallist Sharad Kumar, six-time Winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan, and Indian women’s hockey team head coach Harendra Singh. The sporting stars were honoured with a shawl and a cased silver fish. As per the Sportstar Conclave tradition, two special awards were bestowed on athletes from the State. Decathlete Jai Prakash Singh won the Unsung Champion award and teenage chess talent Md. Reyan bagged the Young Achiever honour. Both were awarded a cash prize of ₹50,000 each. Published – January 25, 2025 02:07 am IST …