Javelin thrower Sandeep fell short of making history at the Rio Paralympics by a very narrow margin as he finished fourth in men's F44 category on Saturday.
The 20-year-old Sandeep threw a distance of 54.30m, his personal best, and looked poised for a podium finish. He was second-placed for a majority of the competition until others took over in the latter stages.
The gold medal went to Trinidad and Tobago's Stewart Akeem, who threw a world record distance of 57.32m. The silver was won by Canada's Alister McQueen (55.56m) while the bronze went to New Zealand's Rory McSweeney (54.99m).
Another Indian competitor Narender Ranbir finished sixth with a throw of 53.79m.
Sandeep is the world No. 2 in his category - F44, for athletes who have a single below knee amputation or who can walk with moderately reduced function in one or both legs) category of Javelin Throw at the Rio Paralympics.
He hails from New Delhi and comes from a humble background. Sandeep suffered a broken hip in a car accident. Despite the accident, he took up javelin throw in 2014 and has excelled.
He won a gold medal at the IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Berlin in 2016.
This time, India sent its largest contingent ever - 19 - in Paralympics