New Delhi, Sep 5 : India on Friday announced a strong and diverse contingent of para-athletes from across the country who have qualified for the World Para Athletics Championships 2025, set to take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, from September 27 to October 5, 2025.

Led by star javelin thrower and two-time Paralympic gold medallist Sumit Antil, the team features a powerful blend of experienced medallists and emerging talent. The squad boasts illustrious names such as Praveen Kumar, Nishad Kumar, Hokato, Simran Sharma, Preeti Pal, Navdeep, Dharambir Nain, Pranav Soorma, and many more.

Paralympic gold medalist Dharambir Nain and double bronze medallist sprinter Preeti Pal have been honoured with the prestigious role of flag bearers for the Indian contingent at the opening ceremony.

The qualifiers represent a wide geographic spread, highlighting the growth of para athletics infrastructure and support nationwide. Haryana leads with 31 players, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 12 players, Gujarat with 5, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand with 4 each, Tamil Nadu 3 players, Telangana 2, and several other states'including Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Nagaland, Delhi, Punjab, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala'each contributing one athlete.

The New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships is set to be India's biggest-ever para sporting event, with over 2200 athletes and support staff from more than 104 countries competing in 186 medal events.

The event was started as the IPC Athletics World Championships with the first edition in 1994 in Berlin and was renamed as World Para Athletics Championships after the 2015 edition.

New Delhi will be hosting the 12th edition of the prominent athletics competition for para-athletes. India has recently started making waves in the World Para Athletics Championship with 45 medals so far -= 13 gold, 15 silver, and 17 bronze. China leads the overall list with 538 medals, including 208 gold. Great Britain is second with 399 medals, with 154 gold, and the United States is third with 471 medals, 149 of them gold.

/IANS