World Para Athletics Grand Prix: Indians shine on opening day

New Delhi: The empty stands at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on the opening day of the World Para Athletics Grand Prix did not deter the para athletes’ spirits.

Over 200 para athletes from around 20 countries gathered in the capital for the mega event on Tuesday. 

India made a clean sweep in the Men’s Discus Throw F11 event where Sagar clinched the gold with a throw of 34.84 meters. Balaji Rajendran secured silver with a 26.98 meter throw while Janak Singh Harsana took bronze with a 25.13 meter effort.

In the Women’s 100 meters across T35, T36, T38, and T44 classifications, Australia’s Rhiannon Clarke emerged victorious, clocking 13.14 seconds. India’s Preeti Pal, a paralympic medalist, impressed with a silver at 14.85 seconds, while Germany’s Nicole secured bronze at 15.35 seconds.

“This is my off season. I just started training two weeks back,” Preethi told The Bridge after finishing second in her event.

The Grand Prix will serve as a classification tournament for the young athletes.

In the Men’s 100 meters T44 category, India's Mit Bharatbha Patel earned gold with 12.67 seconds. Ababil Ali followed closely with silver in 13.81 seconds, and Malaysia’s Ivan Jovic Suan secured bronze with 13.84 seconds.

Brazil’s Joeferson Marinho de Oliveira (11.17 seconds) dominated the Men’s 100 meters T11 and T12 category as India’s Vishu claimed silver, while Pragadeeshwara Raja Moorthy added to India’s tally with a bronze.

In the Women’s 100 meters T47, Anastasiia Soloveva sprinted to gold in 12.55 seconds, while Sri Lanka’s Janani Wickramasingha secured silver with 13.25 seconds. India’s Jayanti Behera rounded off the podium with a bronze in 13.62 seconds.

India’s Kiran Shriram Metkar delivered a strong performance in the Women’s 100 meters T54 category, clinching gold with a time of 22.9 seconds.

In the combined Men’s 100 meters T63 and T64 categories, Petr Mikhalkov, also representing Neutral Para Athletes, stormed to gold in 11.56 seconds. Japan’s Yuma Tamkai earned silver with 11.66 seconds, while India’s Pranav Prashant Desai captured bronze in 11.75 seconds.

Uzbekistan’s Kudratillokhon Marufkhujaev led the Men’s Discus Throw F37 event, winning gold with a throw of 47.97 meters. Japan’s Yamato Shimbo claimed silver with 47.94 meters, while India’s Haney secured bronze with 45.78 meters.

India dominated the Men’s High Jump T47 event, sweeping all three medals.

Rampal led the charge with a gold-winning leap of 1.83 meters, followed by Chandresh Muljibhai Bagada with silver and Banti with bronze.

Some big names, including Sumit Antil, Yogesh Kathuniya, Simran Vats, Sachin Khilari, Praveen Kumar and Sailesh Kumar were missing from action.

Sports Secretary Sujata Chaturvedi was the chief guest and she said the event marks a significant achievement for para-athletes and reflects India’s growing commitment to developing para sports. She emphasized that this is just the beginning of a long journey, with preparations already underway for the Summer Games 2036.

She added that events like this provide much-needed exposure to athletes and the necessary experience ahead of the World Para Athletics Championships, which will also be hosted in New Delhi later this year.

The World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2025 promises three days of intense competition, global camaraderie, and inspiration, as top athletes from around the world come together to push the limits of human spirit and sporting excellence.