The World Para Athletics Championships (WPAC) 2025 is set to begin at the revamped Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, marking the city's first major athletics event since the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Touted to be the largest edition ever with approximately 1,700 athletes from 104 countries, this comes at the back of the central government bids for the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the 2036 Olympics.
This is also seen as a step toward greater inclusivity in a country where physical and intellectual disability is often misunderstood. For India’s para athletes, who have dramatically increased their medal haul from two at the 2015 precursor event to 17 at the 2024 World Championships and 17 of the 29 total medals won at the Paris Paralympics, performing on home soil is a milestone. Paralympic Committee of India secretary Satya Narayan highlighted the importance of this moment: “Indians barely had a chance to perform in front of a crowd that cheered for them. This is a chance for all elite Indian para athletes to finally perform in front of their loved ones.”
India is fielding its largest-ever contingent of 73 athletes (54 men and 19 women) for the nine-day event. The biggest draw for the home crowd will be two-time reigning world and Olympic champion in the F64 javelin, Sumit Antil, who holds the world record of 73.29m. Other Indian medal hopefuls include javelin thrower Navdeep Singh (F41), and track favorites Preethi Pal (100m/200m T35), India’s only athlete to win multiple medals at the Paris Paralympics, and Simran Sharma (100m/200m T12). Deepthi Jeevanji will be the sole Indian representative among athletes with intellectual impairment.
The Championships will also feature a lineup of prominent international stars. Germany’s Markus Rehm (long jump T64), the nine-time world champion known as the Blade Jumper, Greece’s world-record holder Athanasios Ghavelas (100m T11), and Brazil’s Petrucio Ferreira (100m T47), the fastest para athlete in the world. Spectators will also have the opportunity to see wheelchair racing legend Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland.
The event is positioned as more than just a competition. As Paralympic gold medallist Devendra Jhajharia noted, it allows youngsters to witness their idols "in the flesh" and serves as a platform for positive social change. For the Indian contingent, the immediate goal is to better their best-ever medal haul of 17 from the 2024 World Championships, with the confidence that the home support will provide the energy and motivation needed to succeed.
