India’s para-athletics team achieved a remarkable milestone at the World Para Athletics Championships held in Delhi, clinching a historic total of 22 medals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his pride on social media, calling it “a historic performance.” He acknowledged the athletes’ hard work and extended his best wishes for their future endeavors, emphasizing that hosting the championship was an honor for the nation.
This marked India’s inaugural hosting of this significant track-and-field event in disability sport, aside from the Paralympic Games. Following a last-minute decision to select Delhi as the host city last December, officials hoped the championships would enhance awareness of para-sport in India. With India ranking tenth in the medal standings and luminaries like visually impaired sprinter Simran Sharma gaining public attention, there is a strong argument that their mission was successfully accomplished.
The Indian Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports noted that the championship showcased India’s entrance into a domain traditionally dominated by elite organizers. Deepa Malik, the first Indian woman to earn a Paralympic medal in 2016, expressed excitement about the event’s potential to foster awareness and pride among Indians, despite many competitions taking place in front of sparse crowds at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Over nine days, 186 medal events were held on a newly laid Olympic-standard Mondo track, resulting in the breaking of 35 world records and the establishment of 104 championship records. Such achievements are common in para-sports as improvements in participation, coaching, and technology continue to evolve. Notably, the competition featured a wide array of nations, with 45 out of 104 participating countries winning at least one gold medal.
For Great Britain, the championships yielded a mix of success but resulted in an overall average performance with seven golds, five silvers, and 13 bronzes, placing them seventh in the medal table. Individual athletes like Dan Pembroke, who won the F13 javelin for the third consecutive time, and Aled Davies, who secured his seventh title in the F63 shot put, brought pride to the team. Hannah Cockroft further added to her impressive resume with three golds in wheelchair racing.
New talents also shone brightly, with Victoria Levitt stepping onto the world stage at her first championship, earning gold and silver in the T44 classification for lower-leg impairments. Nathan Maguire outperformed Swiss star Marcel Hug to clinch a bronze in the T54 1500m, while Finlay Menzies made headlines by winning bronze in the 100m sprint, a sport set to debut at the Los Angeles Paralympics in 2028.
Katie Jones, head of Paralympic performance at UK Athletics, described the event as a fruitful experience for Great Britain, highlighting the opportunity for veteran athletes to mentor newcomers. She emphasized the positive team spirit and noted the mutual learning experienced by both generations involved in the competition.
The championships were not without controversies. Pakistan’s boycott due to rising tensions in Kashmir overshadowed the event, and the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their own flag raised eyebrows. Additionally, an issue regarding competitor numbers affected Britain’s Fabienne André, who was denied a bronze medal in the women’s T34 400m after only four runners participated. The sparse attendance also raised questions about public support, with Cockroft remarking it was hard to believe the Indian public was fully behind the games when even free events were not well attended.
While uncertainty looms over the next championships, and real progress remains slow for disabled athletes, the undeniable influence of para-sport in altering lives and shifting perceptions persists. As Simran Sharma articulated, para-athletes continue to confront challenges related to accessibility and infrastructure, imbibing their racing endeavors with deeper significance. “It wasn’t just a race,” she stated of her T12 100m victory, “It was the culmination of years of quiet struggle, discipline, and unshakable faith.”
Original Source: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/oct/06/british-breakthroughs-india-pride-delhi-hails-para-athletics-world-championships-success
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Publish Date: 2025-10-07 03:52:00
