World-class Mondo tracks and rich cultural show set the tone for India’s historic World Para Athletics Championships 2025

Atithi Devo Bhava, the ancient Sanskrit phrase, has long been at the centre of India’s social fabric, and it was on full display with grandeur as union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya declared open the World Para Athletics Championships 2025 at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Thursday.

The opening ceremony of India’s first World Para Athletics Championships — which will feature 2,200 participants from 104 nations over the next 10 days — showcased cultural performances such as the popular Bhangra dance, the Manipuri classical dance Pung Cholom, and the beats of the mridangam.

Dance performances included a spirited performance by hearing-impaired artists from the dance group ‘We are One’ on the famous song Jai ho, while a few performed on wheelchairs.

#WATCH | Athletes from various countries participate in the opening ceremony of the World Para Athletics Championships 2025 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi.#IndiaAtWPA #ParaChampions #WPAC2025 #ParaAthletics pic.twitter.com/UiE1iWY4SC

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) September 25, 2025

The athletes marked their presence with a parade as Dharambir Nain and Preethi Pal led the 74-athlete Indian contingent as the flagbearers.

With heads held high and hearts full of pride, #TeamIndia 🇮🇳marches into the World Para Athletics Championships! Every step echoes resilience, every face shines with determination ✨#IndiaAtWPA #ParaChampions pic.twitter.com/n0PX87854c

— Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) September 25, 2025

Yet, amid all the glitz, glamour, music and the inspiration that we derive from the para athletes, shining at its best was India’s first-ever Mondo track, the same used at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics 2024. Mondo is an Italian company that produces cutting-edge prefabricated track surfaces considered the best in class. It aids athletes’ performance by providing better shock absorption, transferring energy back to the athletes and reducing the risk of injuries.

India’s first-ever Mondo track shines in Delhi

The best-in-class track surface is now the set standard at the biggest athletic events and India is only the 25th country in the world to have a Mondo track. In fact, India is one of the rare countries to have two Mondo tracks at the same venue, as another one has been laid adjacent to the stadium for warm-up. It was also inaugurated on Thursday by Mandaviya, along with a fitness centre built by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

“Now, JLN has become a rare venue where both the main competition and warm-up area have Mondo tracks. There was no Mondo track at the warm-up area in the 2023 and 2024 editions of the championships (in Paris and Kobe),” said Devendra Jhajharia, Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) president and two-time Paralympic gold medallist.

The nine-lane Mondo track in the stadium, as well as in the practice area, features dark and light shades of blue, which are expected to help partially blind athletes with better spatial orientation.

Overall, the Indian government has spent Rs 50 crore on the tracks, while the total expenditure on renovating the venue could exceed Rs 80 crore. But the government isn’t focused on counting costs right now. The spending, grandeur and organisation are all aimed at one goal: the hope of hosting the Olympics in 2036.

Besides inspiring the next generation of para athletes, the World Para Athletics Championships 2025 is an opportunity for India to showcase its ability and infrastructure for hosting the biggest sporting events in the world. It could be the medium to take the Indian sporting landscape to the next level.

“We are deep into planning for the Commonwealth Games 2030, and we have our eyes set on hosting the Olympic Games in 2036 with ambitions that will accelerate infrastructure, opportunity, and the sporting dreams of countless youth. As the Prime Minister has said, ‘Sport not only creates champions; it also promotes peace, progress and wellness.’ That is the guiding light of our sporting journey,” Mandaviya said at the opening ceremony.

And that’s why the efforts are not just limited to laying down the Mondo tracks. The 60,000-seater Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, which was built for the 1982 Asian Games, has witnessed multiple upgrades to make it friendlier to para athletes. The toilets have been redeveloped to make them accessible to para athletes, doors of rooms and bathrooms have been widened, along with the escalators.

India looks at possible Olympics hosting with WPAC 2025

New ramps have been installed at the stadium to provide better access to wheelchair users and a massive gallery that can house 500 wheelchair-using athletes and coaches has been established.

The gargantuan effort to make the athletics facilities accessible to para athletes and coaches is evident from the fact that while the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo featured 49 events, the World Para Athletics Championships in Delhi will host 186 events.

The real action in the event will kick off on 27 September and will run until 5 October. Overall, there will be 101 events for men, 84 for female athletes and one mixed competition.

India’s best-ever World Para Athletics Championships performance came in Kobe, Japan, last year, where the country won 17 medals, including six gold. But having claimed 29 medals at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, including seven golds, India will be aiming to create new history at the historic sporting extravaganza.