India wins 22 medals, six golds at World Para Athletics in New Delhi

India closed the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi with a record haul, winning 22 medals including six golds to register its best-ever performance at the event. The championships, held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium from September 27 to October 5, saw India’s 73-member contingent finish with 6 gold, 9 silver and 7 bronze medals and place 10th in the final medal standings.

The surge on the final days sealed the landmark total. After a run of strong results earlier in the week that included golds for Nishad Kumar in the men’s high jump T47 and Simran Sharma in the women’s 100m T12, India added three medals on day eight and four more on the concluding day to move past its previous best of 17 medals from the 2024 edition in Kobe, Japan. Standout Indian gold medalists included Sumit Antil in the men’s javelin F64, Shailesh Kumar in the men’s high jump T63, Rinku Hooda and Sandip Sanjay Sargar in their respective javelin classes, alongside Nishad Kumar and Simran Sharma.

Several Indian athletes produced multi-medal or repeat world-championship performances. Simran Sharma doubled on the podium with a gold in the 100m T12 and later a medal in the 200m T12, where she set an...