India’s Navdeep Singh was upgraded to the gold medal in men’s javelin throw F41 at the 2024 Paris Paralympics after Iran’s Sajdegh Sayah Beit was disqualified for ‘unsporting/improper conduct’ on Saturday.
Singh, who had finished a heartbreaking fourth at the Tokyo Games three years back, was the second best athlete in the field with a throw of 47.32m.
Beit had thrown 47.64m for the gold medal, but was disqualified minutes after the competition as he displayed a non-state flag during his victory celebrations. The broadcast cameras caught the Iranian reaching for a black flag with Arabic text in red colour from his bag post the competition.
“World Para Athletics (WPA) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, ethics, and conduct in the sport of Para athletics,” a statement from the officials read following Beit’s disqualification.
“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,” it added.
Beit’s disqualification upgraded Singh from silver to the top spot on the podium, marking India’s record seventh gold medal at the ongoing 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Simran wins bronze
Earlier in the day, Simran Sharma won the bronze medal in women’s 200m T12 event along with her guide Abhay Singh.
The 24-year-old Sharma clocked an impressive 24.75s to pocket the bronze medal, a day after finishing fourth in women’s 100m T12.
Omara Durand of Cuba (23.62s) and Alejandra Perez Lopez of Venezuela (24.19s) took the gold and silver medal respectively in the women’s 200m T12.
The two medals on Saturday took India’s tally at the Paris Paralympics to 29 medals with seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze.
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