Iranian athlete Sadegh Beit Sayah suffered a massive blow and was disqualified from the men’s F41 javelin final at the Paris Paralympic Games on Saturday. Sadegh threw a record-breaking 47.64 metres in his fifth attempt to top the rankings after the final round of the men’s javelin. However, he was later disqualified for violating the rules and missed out on the gold medal, as India’s Navdeep Singh’s silver medal was upgraded to gold. The F41 category is for athletes who are of small stature.

The Iranian javelin thrower was disqualified for a violation of rule 8.1 of the World Para Athletics Rules and Regulations (Code of Conduct and Ethics).

“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 to ensure that the sport is conducted in a fair, honest and transparent manner,” states rule 8.1 of the World Para Athletics Rules and Regulations Code of Conduct.

The Paris Paralympic Committee has not disclosed the reason for Sadegh’s disqualification in detail. However, fans have speculated that the Iranian javelin thrower displayed a black flag with Arabic text in red during the competition, which could be the reason behind his disqualification.

Meanwhile, in the packed Stade de France, there was a redemption arc for India’s Navdeep after finishing fourth in Tokyo. Navdeep was second in line among the six runners and started his campaign in the final with a foul. He failed to stop the momentum and fell over the line, resulting in a foul.

On his third attempt, Navdeep broke the Paralympic record with an impressive throw of 47.32 metres to move into first place.

Sadegh Beit Sayah of the Islamic Republic of Iran thought he had rewritten history with a throw of 47.64 metres to set a new Paralympic record. But his disqualification after the final robbed him of the gold medal victory.