Simran Sharma's bronze upgraded to silver following Alejandra Perez Lopez's disqualification in women's 200m T12
Preethi Pal overcomes starter pistol malfunction to run again, bag silver
Brazil leads medals table with 15 gold, followed by China and Iran
Simran Sharma battled adversity while clinching the women's 200m T12 silver on Sunday (October 5, 2025), as India wrapped up their World Para Athletics Championships campaign at the JLN Stadium with a record haul of 22 medals, punctuated by her breaking the Asian record.
Simran Sharma's Silver, Disqualification Drama In Women's 200m T12
Simran, a 25-year-old para athlete from Uttar Pradesh, battled exhaustion and a stiff back on a hot and humid evening in New Delhi to deliver an inspired performance in the women's 200m T12 event. Despite running her sixth sprint race in just two days, she bagged the silver medal – complementing the gold she secured in the 100m T12 event on Friday with an Asian record and a personal best of 24.46 seconds.
Initially, Simran finished third behind Venezuela's Alejandra Perez Lopez and Brazil's Clara Barros de Silva, who recorded 24.42 seconds. However, Alejandra was disqualified under rule R7.10.4 of the World Para Athletics (WPA) regulations, which state that "an athlete will be disqualified if they or their guide runner fail to comply with the rules for using a tether."
A tether is a short cord or band that links a visually-impaired athlete with their guide to ensure they run in sync. This disqualification promoted Simran to second place.
This was Simran's third World Para Athletics medal, following her gold in the T12 200m at the 2024 World Championships in Kobe. Expressing her joy, she said, "I am happy that I have won two medals in a home event. I'm all the more satisfied because I broke the Asian record."
Her guide runner, Umar Saifi, nodded in unison as she spoke. Simran also revealed her struggle by noting, "I timed 24.92 seconds in the semifinal in the morning, and shaving off quite a bit from my personal best makes it all the more special. This morning, I was crying because I couldn't even bend after five races in two days."
Looking ahead, Simran plans to target three gold medals at the 2026 Asian Para Games in Japan. She added that apart from the 100m and 200m, she would try long jump next year because her coach believes she has the requisite speed – citing a recent jump of 5.42m as evidence that with a bit more work on her takeoff, she could excel in the event.
Preethi Pal Overcomes Starter Pistol Malfunction To Claim Silver
Preethi Pal – a 25-year-old double Paris Paralympics bronze medallist in the T35 category for athletes with coordination impairments like cerebral palsy – had begun her celebrations by draping the tricolour around her and kissing the track. Just as she was soaking in the joyous atmosphere, organisers announced a re-run after the starter pistol went off twice in quick succession, with a delay in intervention compounding the confusion.
This was a setback that led to a dip in her confidence. Preethi recalled, "I did feel down (after the first race). All the players were saying, 'we are very tired... I said, we are going home. We are not doing it."
But despite that, she returned to the track nearly two hours later. Supported by her coach and physio, Preethi regrouped and completed the re-run with a season's best of 14.33 seconds, narrowly trailing China's Guo Qianqian who clocked 14.24 seconds.
Reflecting on the challenge, Preethi stated, "It's very difficult to come back and race again. I felt that I wouldn't be able to step onto the podium, but my coach and physio prepared me again. He said, this time you will do well. Now I am relieved."
She also criticised the organisers, adding, "They should have thought about it earlier (stopped the race immediately)." Notably, she secured a bronze medal in the T35 200m event as well.
Navdeep Singh, Sandeep Add To India's Medal Haul
The day saw a collection of key performances that awarded India three silver medals – from Simran, Preethi and Navdeep Singh – along with a bronze from Sandeep, forming the backbone of a record medal haul.
Navdeep, the 24-year-old Paris Paralympics gold medallist in the F41 javelin event for athletes with short stature, appeared to be warming up nicely. His third throw, a season's best of 45.46m, briefly put him in the lead until Iran's Sadegh Beit Sayah secured gold with a massive 48.86m.
Although Navdeep showed promise, his fourth attempt yielded only 44.87m and his final two throws were fouls, preventing further gains. Meanwhile, in the men's 200m T44 event, Sandeep delivered an unexpected bronze with a personal best of 23.60 seconds, adding to the festive mood.
Final Standings
Collectively, these performances – three silvers and one bronze – contributed to India's final tally of six gold, nine silver, and seven bronze medals, totalling 22. However, despite this historic haul, India finished 10th on the medals table, a result that disappointed many given the high expectations from stars like Navdeep and high jumper Praveen Kumar.
Adding to the day’s drama, the Jury of Appeal on Sunday awarded Brazilian Paulino dos Santos Thiago the silver in the men's shot put F57 final with a throw of 14.82m after rejecting an appeal against the thrower. There was also speculation on Saturday that India's Soman Rana's bronze could be upgraded to silver.
Brazil led the medals table with 44 medals (15 gold, 20 silver, nine bronze), followed by China with 52 medals (13 gold, 22 silver, 17 bronze), and Iran with 16 medals (nine gold, two silver, five bronze).
(With PTI inputs)
