How did India get its 7th gold medal at Paris Paralympics 2024?

New Delhi: In a rather bizarre turn of events on the second-last day for the Indian campaign at the Paris Paralympics 2024 saw Navdeep Singh’s silver medal being upgraded to gold. Navdeep Singh had earlier won a silver medal in the javelin throw F41 category with a throw of 47.32 m.

However, Iran’s Beit Sayah broke the record with a 47.64 m throw. Navdeep was happy with the silver medal. The para-athlete however became ecstatic after he received the gift of a gold medal owing to the disqualification of the Iranian athlete.

The case of Beit Sayah explained:

🟨 1st yellow card for his gesture of cutting throat towards the crowd

🟥 2nd yellow for displaying religious symbol

Result: Disqualified

In Tokyo too he got a yellow warning for his religious message.

In summary, he is an idiot. pic.twitter.com/KnlfPBvQZW

— Throwback Iranian Football (@Tarikh_football) September 8, 2024

According to the guidelines of the World Para Athletics (WPA), Beit Sayah had violated rule 8.1 of the official rulebook. The highest authority said in a public statement-

World Para Athletics (WPA) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, ethics, and conduct in the sport of Para athletics. 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

What were the ‘improper’ gestures of Sadegh Beit Sayah?

The story behind Sadegh’s disqualification from the event starts with the 2 yellow cards that the 37-year-old para athlete received during the finals. Sadegh got the first yellow card after he threw 47.64 m due to a controversial gesture. In that gesture, he did a slit-throat celebration towards the fans.

The reason(s) for Sadegh’s alleged celebration is still unknown. However, Sadegh’s coach sensed that the Iranian would be in trouble owing to his gesture and asked him to calm down in visuals captured by TV cameras.

The gold medal of Sadegh Beit Sayah was disqualified due to two incidents during the competition:
* Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Beit Sayah made a celebratory cheer that the referee interpreted as unsportsmanlike. This resulted in a yellow card.
* Display of the Flag: Beit Sayah… pic.twitter.com/8Oa8w1WFqX

— Professor CR (@TheProfessorCR) September 8, 2024

Subsequently, Sadegh was penalised again for showing a flag after he bagged a gold medal at that time. After he got the medal confirmation, the 37-year-old took out a religious flag with Arabic text written in red. The flag is presumed to be that of Imam Hussain (a Shia leader) and is banned within the sporting premise of the Paralympics. Naturally, Sadegh was disqualified owing to 2 yellow cards.