Nishad Kumar, Simran Sharma win maiden gold as India jump to fourth in World Para Athletics Championships

Nishad Kumar and Simran Sharma won their maiden World Para Athletics Championships gold in high jump and 100m race respectively, as India clinched four medals to jump to fourth spot on the most productive day in New Delhi on Friday.

Preethi Pal and Pardeep Kumar added a bronze each in the 200m and discus throw respectively, swelling India’s tally and pushing the hosts three places up from seventh.

India now have six gold, five silver and four bronze in total. With two more days left in the competition, the hosts are on course to better their best medal haul of 17 achieved in Kobe 2024 (Japan).

Brazil continued to lead the table with 12 gold, 18 silver and 7 bronze, followed by China (9-16-13) and Poland (8-2-5).

Delhi girl Simran clinched India’s first gold of the day, winning the women’s 100m T12 final with a personal best time of 11.95 seconds for her maiden title in the event.

She had won gold in the 200m event in the last edition in Japan and a bronze in the 2024 Paralympics.

She will also run in the 200m at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Liang Yanfen of China won the silver with a time of 12.11 seconds while Spain’s Nagore Folgado Garcia took the silver, clocking 12.11 seconds.

The T12 category is meant for athletes who have visual impairment, and Simran ran with her guide Umar Saifi.

Born prematurely at six-and-a-half months with visual impairment, the 25-year-old Simran trains at the JLN Stadium.

Simran was in incubator for six months and it was her father Manoj Sharma who supported her to take up the sport.

“It’s fun to run for my country. I always wanted to do something for my country,” Simran said.

“I have won gold 100m and I will now give my best to win 200m,” she added.

For Nishad, it was a double delight as he won the men’s high jump T47 event on his 26th birthday.

He cleared 2.14m to win the gold with an Asian record.

It was also his maiden gold in either Paralympics or world para championships.

He won a silver each in the Tokyo and Paris Paralympics, a bronze in the 2019 world championships and a silver in the 2023 edition.

“I have been waiting for this day for a year. I have been working very hard for this day. Today is the day. I have given my best. It’s God’s will. No one can stop me,” said Nishad.

“I already have silver medals. I have kept it on my rack. I haven’t seen them since I kept it on my rack. I have been waiting for this gold medal for many years.

“I was ready for it. I had written in my diary that I will do it (win gold) today.”

His victory was all the more special as he beat USA’s Roderick Townsend, the five-time defending champion and three-time Paralympic gold medallist. Townsend managed only 2.03m for bronze, while Turkiye’s Abdullah Ilgaz took silver with 2.08m.

“It was a big achievement for me. I beat him for the first time in my life. I saw him for the first time in Rio 2016.

Nishad hails from Una in Himachal Pradesh, and he lost his right hand in a grass-cutting machine accident when he was six-year-old.

The T47 classification is meant for para athletes with a below elbow or wrist amputation or impairment.

In the women’s 200m T35 final, Preethi clocked a season’s best of 30.03 seconds to take the bronze behind Guo Qianqian (29.50 seconds) of China and Fatimah Suwaed (30.00 seconds) of Iraq.

In the men’s discus throw F64, Pardeep produced a season best effort of 46.23m to take the bronze.

Ivan Katanusic of Croatia won the gold with a throw of 55.12m while Max Rohn of USA took the silver with 50.92m.

The T35 classification is for athletes with co-ordination impairments, while F64 is for those with moderately affected lower limb movement or leg absence below the knee.