World Athletics Championships 2025 Day 1 Wrap: India make difficult start as race walkers disappoint

Ram Baboo was disqualified in men’s race walk.

India made a disappointing start to their campaign at the World Athletics Championships 2025 as race walkers failed to turn up while middle distance runner Pooja could not qualify for the final in women’s 1500m after finishing 11th in her heats.

From a contingent of 22 athletes, four Indians competed on the opening day: Ram Baboo and Sandeep Kumar in the men’s 35km race walk, Priyanka Goswami in the women’s 35km race walk, and Pooja Olla in the women’s 1500m.

Unfortunately, there was little to celebrate for the fans as all four finished below their respective personal bests.

India’s day began on a sour note as the 26-year-old race walker Ram Baboo was disqualified from the men’s 35km race walk event. Baboo, who holds the national record, was shown a fourth red card at the 24km mark, leading to his disqualification along with six others from 50 competitors.

Team India’s campaign gets underway in Tokyo!Men's 35km Race Walk:Sandeep Kumar – 23rd – 02:39:15Ram Baboo (Disqualified ❌)Women's 35km Race Walk:Priyanka Goswami – 24th – 03:05:58Pictures credit 📸 – @indian_athletes#IndiainWCHTokyo #IndianAthletics #WCHTokyo25 #AFI pic.twitter.com/NywXt0ZTNh

— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) September 13, 2025

Following Baboo’s disappointment, the Indian veteran 39-year-old Sandeep Kumar completed the race in 2:39:15, falling short of his personal best of 2:35:06 that he had set in April 2025.

He finished 23rd in a time that was approximately 11 minutes behind the gold medalist, Evan Dunfee of Canada, who clocked 2:28:22.

Also Read: When will Neeraj Chopra be in action at World Athletics Championships 2025?

Hopes then rested on Priyanka Goswami, but she finished 24th in the women’s 35km race walk with a timing of 3:05:58, about four minutes slower than her national record of 2:56:34, achieved in March 2025.

India’s final hope for a medal on Day 1 was Pooja Olla, who was making her competition debut. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a memorable one as Pooja finished in her heats, with a time of 4:13.75. Only the top six athletes from each heat advanced to the semi-finals.

India Day 1 Results

Men’s 35km Race Walk Final

• Sandeep Kumar finished 23rd with timing of 2:39.15
• Ram Baboo (Disqualified)

Women’s 35km Race Walk Final

• Priyanka Goswami finished 24th with timing of 3:05.58

Women’s 1500m Heats

• Pooja finished 11th in Heat 2 with timing of 4.13.75 seconds

Tomorrow the following athletes from India will be in action:

1. Gulveer Singh will be running in the Men’s 10,000m Final at 6:00 PM IST.
2. Sarvesh Kushare will compete in the Men’s High Jump Qualification at 3:10 PM IST.

Gulveer Singh is a national record holder in 3000m, 5000m, and 10,000m. India have high hopes from the 27-year-old long-distance runner who won double gold at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in the 5000m and 10,000m respectively.

He has qualified for the World Athletics Championships 2025 in both the 5,000m and 10,000m events.

On the other hand, the Indian high jumper Sarvesh Kushare has a personal best of 2.27m and won silver at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships. He also became the first Indian high jumper to qualify for the Olympics.

India’s contingent for World Athletics Championships 2025:

Men: Neeraj Chopra (javelin throw), Sachin Yadav (javelin throw), Yash Vir Singh (javelin throw), Rohit Yadav (javelin throw), Gulveer Singh (5000m, 10000m), Praveen Chithravel (triple jump), Abdulla Aboobacker (triple jump), Murali Sreeshankar (long jump), Sarvesh Kushare (high jump), Animesh Kujur (200m), Tejas Shirse (110m hurdles), Servin Sebastian (20km race walk), Ram Baboo (35km race walk), Sandeep Kumar (35km race walk)

Women: Annu Rani (javelin throw), Parul Chaudhary (3000m steeplechase), Ankita Dhyani (3000m steeplechase), Pooja (800m, 1500m), Priyanka Goswami (35km race walk)

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