World Para Athletics Championships: Indian para athletes prepare to shine on the world stage
After a record breaking performance at the Paralympics, India's strongest ever para-athletics contingent is poised to make history as Delhi hosts the World Championships
Before May, not a single para javelin thrower in the F42 category had crossed the 60m mark. In the last four months, India’s Mahendra Gurjar has breached the barrier thrice. He first burst on to the stage on 26 May at the Nottwil World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Switzerland, setting a new world record mark of 61.17m, eclipsing Roberto Floriani Edenilson’s record of 59.19m set in 2022.
At the India Open Para Athletics Championships in Bengaluru in July, he recorded two throws over 60m, setting a new world record of 63.16m. For a non-athlete these numbers may sound dull, but for Gurjar these are milestones in a journey he began around eight years ago, from Rajasthan’s Sakhoon village that has a population of less than 10,000.
“No one else in our village is remotely connected to sport," says Gurjar, who suffered an impairment in his left leg due to polio. “I come from a family of farmers; as a kid I used to help out in the farm. Maybe that’s where I started building strength. It was my brother who told me about para sport when I was 19. But I did well almost immediately, and the dream has grown bigger with every meet, every achievement."
Having created the world record, the 27-year-old is now ready to conquer the world.
Gurjar is among the 35 debutants who will line up at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships as the event comes to India for the very first time. Less than 10 years ago, India did not even have a properly functioning para sport federation. But starting 27 September, New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will host the sporting extravaganza, marking the first time that the World Championships is taking place in South Asia.
“India has been excelling on the global para-athletics stage in the past 10 years," Paul Fitzgerald, World Para Athletics head, says.
“From two silver medals at the Doha 2015 World Championships to 17 medals, including six gold, at last year’s World Championships in Kobe. It is encouraging to see the investment in para sport which will continue to provide more sporting opportunities for people with disabilities in the most populous nation in the world."
In keeping with the upward trend, India will send its strongest contingent yet to the championships comprising 73 athletes. The world championships will feature over 1,400 athletes from over 100 countries, making it the biggest international athletics event the country has ever hosted.
“This is a new India, this is a changing India, and bringing the World Championships here is a recognition of that," says former Olympic and world champion Devendra Jhajharia, who is currently the president of the Paralympic Committee of India.
In 2013, when Jhajharia travelled for his first world championship to Lyon, France, India sent a 16-member squad. The javelin star, competing in the F46 category, was the only one who returned with a medal—India’s first gold at the global event. Over the last decade, Jhajharia, a Padma Bhushan recipient in 2022, has been part of, and closely witnessed, the change. A stable federation, upgraded facilities, and investment from the government and corporate sectors has pushed para sport in the country to newer heights.
The pivotal moment was the 2016 Rio, when India won two medals (bronze by Sakshi Malik and silver by P.V. Sindhu) at the Olympics, while the Paralympians scooped four medals, including two gold. For the first time, Paralympians were celebrated, their spirit applauded. Traditional and social media took the message to all corners of the country. Success begets success. From four, India took the tally to 19 at the Tokyo Games—which was more than the country’s collective tally at the Paralympics till then. At Paris 2024, they reached a new high of 29. Even at the continental-level India broke new ground, winning over 100 medals (108) for the first time at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Medals are an objective tracker of India’s progress, but far more important have been the intangibles. Para sport has fostered solidarity and empowered a community that has been, historically, pushed to the fringes.
World Championship medallist Bhagyashri Jadhav remembers its first healing touch.
Jadhav, who hails from Honwadaj village in Maharashtra’s impoverished Nanded district, got married at the age of 18. Mistreatment from her in-laws led to an incident that left her in a coma. Though Jadhav came out of it, she lost the use of her legs due to neurological issues.
“I had a tough time accepting it," says Jadhav, 40. “At the age of 19, I was bound to a wheelchair. My family pushed me to study. All I wanted to do was live peacefully, in my isolated world, but the people in the village wouldn’t even let me do that with their constant taunts."
At the suggestion of a family friend, journalist Prakash Jadhav Kamble, Jadhav took up sport, starting with shot put and javelin. In 2017, she competed in her first tournament, the Mayor’s Cup in Pune.
“When I saw other athletes at the event, and saw them achieve things, I started making peace with my situation," she says. “I told myself if I worked hard, and maybe there is something else written in the stars for me. My life found a direction. I could pursue this, make a name for myself, my family and my country. I found my identity, that was a very positive feeling."
Jadhav has represented India at the biggest stages—in the shot put F34 category she won a silver medal at the 2022 Para Asian Games and at the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe. At 2024 Paris Paralympics, Jadhav was one of the flag-bearers for India during the opening ceremony.
Though missing out on a medal in Paris remains one of her career regrets, it has whipped up a hunger for a podium finish at home.
Jadhav is part of a star-studded Indian contingent that features two-time Paralympic gold medallist in javelin, Sumit Antil, track stars Preethi Pal and Deepthi Jeevanji and high-jumper Praveen Kumar. The flag-bearers for the opening ceremony will be Pal and Olympic gold medallist in club throw Dharambir. They will take centre-stage at the revamped stadium, which has been re-surfaced with the state-of-the-art Mondo track, a durable and speedy synthetic track that is used at the grandest of events.
“This championship isn’t just about medals—it’s about showing the world the spirit and ability of Indian para athletes," adds Gurjar. “People across India will be able to see that we are competing, we are fighting on the world stage, fighting our disabilities. I hope our performances encourage more youngsters to chase their sporting dreams."
With soaring spirit, Indian para sport is ready for another milestone moment.
Deepti Patwardhan is a sportswriter based in Mumbai.
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