Iranian athlete Sadegh Beit Sayah suffered a major setback and was disqualified from the men’s F41 javelin throw final at the Paris Paralympics on Saturday. Sadegh produced a record-breaking performance of 47.64 metres in his fifth attempt and ended up at the top of the scoreboard after the final round of the men’s javelin throw. However, he was later disqualified for rule violation 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 of small stature.

The Iranian javelin thrower was disqualified for violating Rule 8.1 of the World Para Athletics Rules (Code of Conduct and Ethics).

“World Para Athletics (WPA) is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, ethics and conduct in para sport. 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 fairly, honestly and transparently,” says Rule 8.1 of the Code of Conduct of World Para Athletics Rules and Regulations.

The Paris Paralympics Committee has not disclosed the reason for Sadegh’s disqualification in detail, but fans speculate that the Iranian javelin thrower displayed a black flag with Arabic text in red color during the competition and this could be the reason for his disqualification.

Meanwhile, a packed Stade de France saw revenge for India’s Navdeep, who finished fourth in Tokyo. Navdeep was second among the six competitors and began his campaign in the final with an attempted foul. He could not stop the momentum and fell over the line, which led to an attempted foul.

On his third attempt, Navdeep gave it his all, breaking the Paralympic record with a massive throw of 47.32m and moving into the top spot.

Sadegh Beit Sayah of the Islamic Republic of Iran thought he had made history with his throw of 47.64m, setting a new Paralympic record, but his disqualification after the final cost him the gold medal.