World Para Athletics Championships: Capital gains for India’s Para athletes ahead of mega event

Paralympic Committee of India president Devendra Jhajharia is confident of hosting the best ever World Para Athletics C’ships in New Delhi next month; insists country’s athletes will win medals galore on home turf

Capital gains for India's Para stars ahead of World Para Athletics Championships

Javelin thrower Sumit Antil; Para high jumper Praveen Kumar; Para rifle shooter Avani Lekhara. Pics/Getty Images

Listen to this article

Capital gains for India's Para stars ahead of World Para Athletics Championships

00:00

Hosts generally tend to have some nervous jitters in the build up to a global event. However, with a little over a month to go for the World Para Athletics Championships, which India will be hosting for the first time, Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) president Devendra Jhajharia is extremely confident of delivering a fine show.

The largest para sport event ever held in India will take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi from September 27 to October 5 with more than 100 countries and over 1000 athletes in participation. And the PCI chief is not just certain that his organising committee will deliver the goods, he’s also confident that India’s athletes will deliver medals.

Rapid growth in para sports

India’s 40 athletes returned with 17 medals (six gold, five silver, and six bronze) from the last edition of the World Para Athletics Championships at Kobe, Japan, in 2024. India has grown significantly in para sports in recent times. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, India won 19 medals (five gold, eight silver and six bronze), while at the Paris Paralympics in 2024, the tally surged to 29 (seven gold, nine silver and 13 bronze). At the World Para Athletics Championships last year, India were sixth in the medals tally with 17 medals.

Devendra Jhajharia

Jhajharia, a three-time Paralympic medallist in javelin throw (gold in 2004, gold in 2016 and silver in 2020), believes the nation will continue to grow and comfortably extend their haul at the 12th edition of the World Para Athletics Championships in Delhi. “Before the Paris Paralympics, I had said that we will go beyond 25 medals. We ended up winning 29. This was a growth of over 50 per cent from our Tokyo Paralympics tally of 19. It’s a great achievement. The IPC [International Paralympic Committee] has recognised India as the fastest growing nation in para sports. So, yes, though there will obviously be pressure on our athletes, but with the support of our government and the home crowd, I’m sure our players will win more medals than the 17 won at Kobe in 2024. I expect between 17 to 20 medals in Delhi,” Jhajharia told mid-day recently.

Jhajharia, 44, went on to explain the intricacies of organising such a world-level competition. “More than 100 countries and over 1000 athletes will be attending this event. This will be the highest participation the event has ever seen [at Kobe there were 1073 athletes competing. There will also be 15 more competitions here than there were in Kobe]. A lot of effort goes into organising an event of this magnitude. And since it’s para sports, we have to ensure everything is para-friendly. For example, we have organised para-friendly buses for athletes, which will be accessible via wheelchair. In hotels, we have special wheelchair-friendly rooms. At the stadium, we will ensure that 300-400 wheelchair-bound spectators can be accommodated and that the bathrooms are constructed appropriately as well. So, every aspect is being looked into carefully,” said Jhajharia.

Jhajharia, a Padma Bhushan, a Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Awardee and an Arjuna Awardee, further highlighted the other venues that will host training and medical facilities.

186 medals to be won

“The Thyagaraj Stadium and the Commonwealth Sports Complex will be used as training areas for the athletes as well as to host medical facilities. The medical facilities at the main stadium also have to be thorough as this is a 186-medal [101 medals for men, 84 for women and one mixed event] competition; there are many more separate disciplines in para sports [when compared to able-bodied sports events]. This event is of massive importance for India’s bid to host the 2036 Olympics and Paralympics too. I’m confident India will deliver the best ever edition of the World Para Athletics Championships.”

Finally, coming to the star attraction of the Championships — India’s athletes — Jhajharia stressed that almost all are medal-winners, before making a special mention of fellow javelin thrower and double Paralympic gold medallist (2020 and 2024) Sumit Antil. “Every player is a hero. It all boils down to performing well on that particular day. But there will surely be higher expectations from the world record-holders like Sumit Antil. I’m confident Sumit will not only win the gold, but also set a new world record at the [Jawaharlal] Nehru Stadium,” Jhajharia signed off.