World Para Athletics Championships 2025: Sumit Antil, Preeti Pal and other top Indians to watch out for

India have made incredible progress in the world of para-sport, winning more medals in the last two editions of the Paralympic Games than they did in 11 previous editions, from Tel Aviv 1968 to Rio de Janiero 2016. India registered a double-digit medal haul at the Paralympic Games for the first time in Tokyo 2020, and went a step further in the Paris Games last year, where finished among the top-20 nations with 29 medals including 7 gold, marking a historic moment in Indian sport.

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Having made its mark in the Paralympics, India will be hosting what is the biggest multi-sporting event since the 2010 Commonwealth Games, with the 12th edition of the World Para Athletics Championships taking place at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium from 27 September to 5 October.

And given their spectacular performances in Tokyo and Paris over the last four years, it wouldn’t be too far fetched to assume they could go a step further after securing a historic top-10 finish in the previous edition in Japan’s Kobe last year. After finishing sixth last year, India will certainly be aiming to enter the top five on home soil this year.

Following are the Indians who could help India achieve that feat:

Sumit Antil

Sumit Antil is an Indian javelin thrower. He is a double gold medalist at the Paralympics, having won the men’s javelin throw F64 event at the 2020 Paralympics and the 2024 Paralympics. He set a new Paralympic record both times with his throws of 68.55 m and 70.59 m. with a 70.59m throw.

Praveen Kumar

Praveen Kumar is an Indian para-athlete from Uttar Pradesh. He won the gold at the 2024 Paris Paralympics and the silver at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. He’s also an Asian Para Games 2022 gold medallist.

Navdeep Singh

Navdeep Singh is an Indian para-athlete and javelin thrower. He won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. He has also been a bronze medallist at the World Championships.

Dharambir Nain

Dharambir Nain is an Indian para-athlete from Haryana. He qualified to represent India at the 2024 Summer Paralympics at Paris and won the gold medal in the men’s club throw F51 event. He set an Asian record with his throw of 34.92 m.

Nishad Kumar

Nishad Kumar, a 24-year-old Indian para-athlete, clinched a silver medal in the men’s high jump T47 at the Paris 2024 Paralympics with a 2.04-meter jump. This is his second Paralympic medal, adding to his 2020 Tokyo silver.

Preeti Pal

Preethi Pal is an Indian para-athlete. She won two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in the women’s 100m and 200m T35 race events and created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win two medals in track and field events at Paralympic Games.

Simran Singh

Simran Sharma is a visually impaired para-athlete. She won a bronze medal in the 200 m T12 event at the Paris Paralympics. at the 2022 Asian Para Games at Hangzhou, China where she won two silver medals in the 100m and 200m T12 events. In May 2024, she won a gold medal at the World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan.

Pranav Soorma

Pranav Soorma is an Indian para-athlete. He won the silver medal in the men’s club throw F51 event at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. He also won the gold medal at the 2022 Asian Para Games. At the event, he set an Asian Games record with a throw of 30.01 m.

Sharad Kumar

Sharad Kumar is an Indian para high jumper and a former world no. 1. He won silver at the Paris Paralympics. Kumar represented India at the 2016 Summer Paralympics and finished sixth. He won Silver in 2017 World Para Athletics Championships.

Mariyappan Thangavelu

Mariyappan Thangavelu is an Indian Paralympic high jumper. He is a triple Paralympics medallist having won the gold medal at 2016 Rio, the silver medal at 2020 Tokyo and the bronze medal at 2024 Paris. He has also been a double medallist at the World Championships with one gold and one bronze.

Hokato Sema

Hokato Sema competes in Men’s Short put in F57 event and won bronze at the Paris Paralympics. He also won bronze medal at the Asian Para Games in 2022.

Yogesh Kathuniya

Yogesh Kathuniya is an Indian Paralympic athlete who specializes in the discus throw. He represented India at 2020 Summer Paralympics where he won a silver medal in the men’s discus throw F56 event. He qualified to represent India at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris

Ajit Singh

Ajit Singh competes in men’s javelin throw, in F-46 category. He secured silver medal at the Paris Paralympics. He also secured bronze at the Kobe World Championship.

Deepthi Jeevanji

Deepthi Jeevanji is an Indian para-athlete. She won the bronze medal at the 2024 Paralympics in the 400 meters T20 race. At the 2024 World Championships, she set a world record of 55.06s. She previously set the Asian Para Games record in 2023. She broke the 55.12s record of Breanna Clar.