Ekta Bhyan qualifies for Worlds as India wins seven medals at Dubai GP

The young Indian Para Athletics team returned home with seven medals from the Dubai 2023 World Para Athletics Grand Prix that concluded recently with Ekta Bhyan qualifying for the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris.

In the medals standings, China returned to international competition after two years with a bang, finishing on top with 102 medals that included 42 gold medals, followed by Ukraine (11 golds) and Uzbekistan (9 gold). India finished in 28th place.

Ekta Bhyan won the bronze medal in the women's wheelchair discus F53 event after hurling the discus at 6.35m. The 37-year-old from Hisar then went on to set a new Asian record in the women's club F51 event despite finishing sixth in the competition with a throw of 17.20 m.

Owing to her show in the Club throw event, Bhyan made the cut for the World Para Athletics Championships set to take place in Paris from July 8 to 17, 2023. “I am glad that with this performance, I could improve my world ranking and set a new Asian record. Though, I was expecting the throw of 18 plus. Anyway, I will work harder and perform better than this in the upcoming events - World Championship and Asian Para Games.

“The World Championships will be a huge competition with all the best athletes from all over the world. With three months left for the Championships now, the training will be in full swing to win a medal for the country,” Bhyan told the Paralympic Committee of India looking ahead to the major events.

Runners and throwers shine too

Bhyan was joined by several youngsters on the podium, including young Mohan Harsha Uyyala who claimed the silver medals in the men’s 100m T47 final.

Delhi-based middle-distance runner Balwant Singh Rawat also picked up a silver medal running the men’s 1500 m T11/12 final in 4:26.63mins and doubled it up with his second-place finish in men’s 5000m final T11/12 racing in 17:23.27min.

Throwers Ravi Kumar and Parveen Kumar too added to India’s tally

While Ravi threw the javelin 50.65m for the silver in the men's javelin F46 final, Parveen claimed a bronze in the men’s javelin F57 event with an effort of 41.86m, before he picked his second bronze (40.84m) in men's discus men F57 event.

Overall, the Indian team had an amazing run at the United Arab Emirates as they finished second with 23 medals including nine gold in the medals table of the Sharjah International Open Para Athletics Meeting earlier last month.