12th World Para Athletics Championship 2025 begins at JLN Stadium, New Delhi

The 12th World Para Athletics Championship 2025 has begun at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi today.

The nine-day championship will feature a total of 186 medal events. These include 101 for men, 84 for women, and one mixed event, covering sprint finishes to endurance races. The Championship will culminate on the 5th of next month.

Indian para-athlete Deepthi Jeevanji has qualified for the medal round with the first position in the Women’s 400 meter T20 event today. 

She took 58.35 seconds which is her season’s best performance. In Heat 1, Leonela Coromoto Vera Colina of Venezuela secured the first position with a timing of 57.10 seconds. 

This is also her season’s best performance. More than a thousand athletes from over a hundred nations are participating in the Championship.

Several renowned players including Athanasios Ghavelas, Ezra Frech, James Turner, Catherine Debrunner, Fleur Jong, Magdalena Andruszkiewicz will be the star attraction of the event. Hosts are represented by more than 70 athletes.

The eyes will be on India’s star players like Sumit Antil, Preeti Pal, Praveen Kumar, Dharambir Nain and Navdeep among others.

Paris Paralympics club throw gold medallist Dharambir Nain and double bronze-winning sprinter Preethi Pal will be India’s flag bearers during the ceremony. Gold medallist javelin thrower Sumit Antil will be a clear favourite to complete a hat-trick of gold medals.