Asian Awards 2021: Sumit Antil and Bhavina Patel get nominated for Best Male and Female athlete honours

The upcoming Asian Awards 2021 organised by the Asian Paralympic Committee will see India's Tokyo Paralympic stars fetch quite a bit of honour as para javelin gold medallist Sumit Antil and para table tennis paddler Bhavina Patel have been nominated in the categories of the Best Male and Female Athletes of 2021. 

After Neeraj Chopra etched history by winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics, Sumit Antil only helped keep the javelin fever up in the nation by claiming the gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics. Antil's heroics at the Paralympic Games was rousing as he went on to break and create the World Record several times en route to launching the gold-winning throw of 68.55m in the men's javelin throw F64 category event. 

Nominated as the Best Male Athlete of the Year 2021 by the Asian Paralympic Committee, Sumit Antil is joined by Iran's Roohallah Rostami (para powerlifting), Japan's Tomoki Sato (para-athletics) and China's Feng Yanke (wheelchair fencing) who will all be vying for the prestigious award.

Similarly, Gujarat's Bhavina Patel was the talk of the table tennis town and the nation when she went on to bag the silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics. Becoming the first paddler from India to win a medal at either the Olympics or Paralympics, Bhavina's outing at Tokyo was truly exciting and rewarding, as well.

Alongside Bhavina Patel, the stage of nominees for the coveted Best Female Athlete of the Year 2021 is shared by other inspiring women including Iran's Hashemiyeh Motaghian Moavi (para-athletics), China's Wen Xiaoyan (para-athletics) and Indonesia's Leani Ratri Oktila (para-badminton), who all have their eyes on claiming this honour as their own.