World Para Athletics Championships 2025: Top five biggest medal prospects for India in New Delhi

The event will be held from September 27 to October 5.

India’s rise in para sports has been exponential and as the country gets ready to host a first-ever World Para Athletics Championships 2025 in New Delhi there’s a growing sense of belief that the Indian contingent can script history on home turf. The event will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium from September 27 to October 5.

That confidence is well-founded. In the previous edition of the World Championships, India secured a record 17 medals—the nation’s best-ever tally in the event’s history. That momentum continued at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, where the para-athletics contingent once again delivered, bagging 17 of India’s 29 medals.

That was nearly five times more than what India managed in the 2017 edition (5 medals).

Now, with the Championships taking place on home soil, the Indian contingent will target at least 20 medals, with several medal contenders set to be in action. On that note, let’s look at the top five medal prospects to watch out for.

India’s biggest medal prospects at World Para Athletics Championships 2025

Sumit Antil (Men’s Javelin F64)

Sumit Antil is the undisputed king in his category and is miles ahead of his other participants. The 27-year-old, who has broken numerous world records, is a two-time reigning World and Olympic champion in the F64 category.

Sumit’s journey is full of inspiration, from having an amputation of his left leg due to a motorcycle accident in 2015 to becoming a two-time Paralympic champion. The defending champion will be chasing his third consecutive world championship title.

More than a medal though, Antil will have a new World Record mark in mind. His 73.29m throw that won him the gold medal at the 2023 Asian Para Games is the current world record.

Praveen Kumar (Men’s High Jump T64)

Praveen Kumar created history at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, with his gold in high jump T64 category by smashing the Area Record. He will be looking to win his first worlds medal and will have gold in mind after a disappointing performance at the previous edition in 2024.

The 22-year-old faced many obstacles on his path to becoming a para-athlete. He was born with a short leg and faced many insecurities during his childhood. He then overcame his insecurities to become the Paralympic Champion.

Also Read: Top 10 Indian para-athletes to watch at World Para Athletics Championships 2025

Preethi Pal (Women’s 100m & 200m T35)

The first Indian track medalist in Paralympics history, Preethi, will be eyeing another double at the World Championships. She won bronze in both 100m and 200m T35 category in the 2024 edition.

Preethi then followed it up with bronze in the same category at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

Apart from being the flag-bearer in the opening ceremony, Preethi is also one of the medal favourites and will aim to improve her bronze medal-finish

Preethi Pal was born with cerebral palsy. This affected her leg strength, and she faced tremendous challenges in her life. However, she overcame all the challenges and has achieved a lot of laurels for the country.

Also Read: Optimism over Outcome: Preethi Pal aims higher on home turf at Para World Championships

Simran Sharma (Women’s 100m & 200m T12)

Reigning champion Simran Sharma will be keen to defend her title in the 200m T12 category at the World Para Athletics Championships 2025. Simran also won bronze in the 200m T12 category at the Paralympics and silver in both the 100m and 200m T12 categories at the Asian Para Games.

One of India’s most decorated female athletes, Simran will once again aim to make the nation proud.

Simran was born with bad eyesight and has faced many struggles in her life. Her father also passed away at an early age due to chronic illness. However, Simran didn’t give up and has shown great resilience in her career. She married Gajender Singh, an army soldier who is also her coach.

Dharambir Nain (Men’s Club Throw F51)

Dhrambir Nain, the reigning Paralympic Champion in Men’s Club Throw F51, will head into the championships on home soil hoping to improve the colour of his bronze medal from the previous edition.

Dharambir was paralysed after he crashed into a rock underwater after misjudging the water depth while swimming. However, he never gave up and along with his coach—Dharambir is coached by fellow player Amit Sheoran—he worked and brought laurels to the country.

He will be one of the serious medal contenders for India at the championships and hope to better his world record.

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