Avtar Singh once again proved that age is just a number.

The 72-year-old proved his mettle by claiming gold in the javelin throw (70-plus age category) at the ongoing 42nd National Masters Athletics Championship in Chennai.

The Jamshedpur-based septuagenarian hurled the javelin at a distance of 30.58 m during the event held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Friday evening.

He pipped Odisha's Surendra Kumar Patnaik (30.47 m) and B Panduranga reddy (29.02 m) of Andhra Pradesh.

National Masters Athletics Championship is being organised under the banner of the Masters Athletics Federation of India. The championship concludes on Sunday.

"I think I am still going strong. I had been training hard in the run-up to the national meet. Gold is a reward for all my hard work," Singh said over the phone from Chennai.

Singh, who along with his wife Sukhdeep, runs a school for the intellectually impaired at Sonari locality of the steel city, added that he was also going to participate in discus throw on Sunday. "I did not fare well at the hammer throw conducted during the national meet in Chennai. Looking forward to the discus," said.

A former captain of the India cycling squad, Singh claimed 5 gold medals in cycling (30 km, 50 km and 60 km), shot put and javelin at the inaugural National Veterans Sports & Games Championship Khel Mahakumbh held at Nashik, Maharashtra from April 8 to 11 last year.

Singh, who used to participate in the javelin at the university level, practices the sport at Joggers’ Park in Sonari. "There is no shortcut to success. You have to work hard for achieving success," the seven-time national cycling champion remarked.

Singh led the Indian cycling team in the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi and has been adjudged the fastest cyclist in the country several times.

After retiring from the sport, Singh dedicated his life to the cause of special athletes. He has been training and channelising the lives of special athletes for over three decades now. He has produced 10 athletes who have won medals in international competitions organised under Special Olympics International.

Singh sustains on a simple diet and lives a balanced lifestyle.

"One has to make adjustments when age is advancing. I am happy with my life and would carry on working for the cause of special athletes. The smile on their (special athletes') faces gives me immense satisfaction," he added.

He is the only trainer from Asia invited as a technical official for three Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai (2007), Los Angeles (2015), Abu Dhabi (2019) by the Special Olympics Games organising committee.