New Delhi: A year after Indian para athletes returned their best-ever haul at the Paris Paralympics (29 medals), the stage is set for another high-stakes competition with the World Para Athletics Championships coming to town in the refurbished Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Easily the largest athletics event ever hosted in India, the competition presents the hosts a golden opportunity to send their rapid rise in para sports into an unprecedented overdrive.
Medals are, without doubt, an undeniable marker of systemic growth and India’s tally in recent years, both at Paralympics and World Championships, is a testament to things looking up. From a solitary medal at London Paralympics to 29 podium finishes last year in Paris, from two medals at Doha Worlds in 2015 to 17 in Kobe in 2024, Indian para athletes have consistently raised the bar and delivered.
Not surprisingly, India named a 73-member squad, their largest ever, for the home competition and will look to improve their medal count from Kobe where they finished sixth. The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) expects no less than 20 medals on home soil and set the record for the best-ever Indian show at the meet. Given the pedigree in Indian ranks, it’s an achievable target.
Leading the Indian charge will be two-time Paralympic champion, two-time defending world champion and world-record holder javelin star (F64) Sumit Antil while discus thrower (F56) Yogesh Kathuniya, a two-time Paralympics silver medallist, will be hunting for his maiden Worlds gold after claiming silver in Paris (2023) and Kobe (2024).
“Competing at a World Championship on home soil is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Knowing my family will be in the stands gives me extra motivation to perform at my best,” Kathuniya said.
Navdeep Singh, who rose to fame with his aggressive celebration after winning the F41 javelin gold at Paris Paralympics, would like to better his third-place finish from the last edition. Navdeep is coming off a training stint from Offenburg in Germany and is hoping to implement his learnings here.
“I have worked on a few technical areas and I am confident coming into the event. Playing at home at an event of this scale is new for us but I am hoping to channelise the nervous energy for my first Worlds gold,” he said.
No home advantage?
The championship will be held on the newly-laid electric blue Mondo track that has expectedly drawn lavish praise from Indian athletes. Except, very few, if any have actually got any gametime on the new surface.
The four-month long relaying exercise was marred by an unprecedented monsoon but the 400m track in the competition area managed to meet the completion deadline of August 30. It was inaugurated by sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya on August 29 while the warm-up area, also sporting a Mondo, was inaugurated just hours before the opening ceremony on Wednesday.
All this has meant that the Indian athletes have barely got a chance to acquaint themselves with the bounce and speed of the track. Athletes had the option of training at the Thyagraj Stadium — which was also under renovation and didn’t have a Mondo track — while a number of them camped in SAI Bengaluru.
Antil, India’s brightest contender, has had just two sessions — on Sept 16 and 18 — in JLN while F46 javelin thrower and Paris Paralympics silver medallist Ajeet Singh Yadav has had just one go on the new track.
“Is it really a home advantage? I got one session somehow but that’s not enough,” Yadav said. Antil, who uses a prosthetic leg, said he needed time to get the muscle coordination going.
“All tracks have a different feel. Paris had a Mondo too but that one was slower while the one in Delhi has better bounce and speed. But you need to get used to it. I compete with a prosthetic so I need to understand which muscles to exert at what stage,” said Antil.
Satyapal Singh, chief coach and competition director, responded to these comments by saying that some athletes would get more time to adjust.
“Most of our athletes have got some sessions on the new track,” said Satyapal Singh. “Those who are complaining have every right to. Even when we travel abroad, we get only 1-2 sessions. Some athletes have got 4-5 sessions. Those who’ll compete in the later half of the competition will get even more time to get used to it.”
