Para-athletes Navdeep and Arvind secured quotas for the upcoming Tokyo Paralympics as India`s gold medal tally swelled to nine after the third day of competitions at the 12th Fazza International World Para Athletics Grand Prix here. Overall, India has claimed 17 medals including nine gold, with four of them coming on Friday. The day was lit up by brilliant shows by Indian men`s javelin throwers -- reigning world champion Sandeep Chaudhary (F44), Ajeet Singh (F46) and Navdeep (F41) -- who were later joined by Pranav Prashant Desai with a yellow metal in men`s 200m F64.

However, world champion javelin thrower Sundar Singh Gurjar (F46) had to settle for a bronze. Arvind attained the Minimum Qualification Standard with a distance of 14.05m in men`s shot put final F35/36 to book a place in the Tokyo Paralympics. He finished fifth in the event. Navdeep, whose first international event was the 2017 Asian Youth Para Games, produced a brilliant throw of 43.58m in his third attempt to take the gold in men`s javelin F41 event and secure a quote for the next Paralympic Games. UAE`s Anas Alhosani (6.96m) ended second. "I felt confident with my throw today. My first throw wasn`t very good, but then I tried to focus and got a good throw. Sandeep bhaiya and Navdeep Sir have been helping me with my technique at JN Stadium in New Delhi," said Navdeep. "I am very happy to also secure a quota. I want to win a medal at the Tokyo Paralympic now," he added.