India para-athletics head coach Satyanarayana expressed his delight on Navdeep's silver being upgraded to gold after Iran's appeal was rejected by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) at the Paris Paralympics. The men's javelin F41 final had everything in store for the spectators, from breaking Paralympic records to a player disqualification at the end. In the final, initially, Islamic Republic of Iran's Sadegh Beit Sayah took the top honours with a Paralympic record of 47.64m, and Navdeep finished second with a throw of 47.32m
But after the final, Sadegh was disqualified from the final. His disqualification has been "attributed to an alleged breach of Rule 8.1 of the International Paralympic Committee's code of conduct. This rule prohibits 'unsporting or improper conduct' during competitions," as per PCI media.
While speaking to ANI, Satyanarayana stated that Sadegh used the wrong flag, due to which he was disqualified, "Iran's appeal has been rejected and Navdeep's silver medal was upgraded to a gold medal. The result was released once again after the rejection of the appeal. This happened because Iran's athlete breached the International Paralympic Committee's code of conduct. He cannot use political slogans only the national flag can be used. He used the wrong flag, due to which he got disqualified. Iran protested, but the IPC rejected the appeal. I am very happy that Navdeep has won a gold medal. Indian team is doing very well."
Rule 8.1 Of World Para Athletics Rules and Regulations (Code of Conduct and Ethics) States: "8.1. General - 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."
According to a statement by PCI media, in that respect, while the incident details remain murky, reports indicate Sadegh appeared to be unfurling a black flag, thereby giving reason to believe such an action may be considered improper conduct/unsportsmanlike, an act related to terroristic or uncivil activity.
Neither the officials nor any other persons have given specific information about the exact nature of this action and how it has violated the code of conduct. Having a flag black flag with objectionable inscriptions could be considered antithetical to an organization which has set strict participation rules for Russian and Belarusian para-athletes.
Following Navdeep's medal upgradation to gold, India has won 29 medals at the Paris Paralympics, including seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze.
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