Navdeep Singh, who fell agonisingly short of a medal at the Tokyo Paralympics, bagged gold at the Paris edition of the tournament on Saturday, September 7, with a personal best throw of 47.32m.
This is India's first-ever gold medal in the men's javelin F41 category. Beginning the competition with a foul, the 23-year-old Navdeep from Haryana, who had finished fourth at the Tokyo Games three years ago, came up with a throw of 46.39 metres in his second attempt, propelling him to second place.
But it was Navdeep's third throw that electrified the stadium. With a huge throw of 47.32 metres, he broke the Paralympic record and surged into the lead, just for Iran's Beit Sadegh to better the Indian's mark and clinch the gold with a record-breaking effort of 47.64 metres in his fifth attempt.
However, Sadegh was disqualified sometime after the end of the final, leading to Navdeep taking the top spot. The latter competes in the F41 category, which is for athletes with short stature.
However, Navdeep's silver was upgraded to an unprecedented gold after Sadegh's disqualification. Pengxiang (44.72m) finished with a silver.
Sayah had managed to nose ahead of the field with a new Paralympic record of 47.64m in his penultimate throw but lost the medal owing to his antics.
The International Paralympic Committee rules bar athletes from making any political gestures at the event and Sayah was thrown out of the final results for unsporting behaviour.
Iraq's Nukhailawi Wildan (40.46) claimed the bronze medal. Inspired by his father, a national-level wrestler and Gram Sachiv, Navdeep channelled his passion into athletics, overcoming societal expectations and physical limitations.
After completing his education at Unique Public School and earning a BA in Hindi (Hons.) from Delhi University, Navdeep's commitment to sports only grew stronger.
The Indian athlete's career took a decisive turn in 2017 when he started professional coaching and made his international debut at the Asian Youth Para Games, where he won gold in the javelin throw.