Summary of this article
India bag multiple medals on World Para Athletics Grand Prix opening day
Preeti Pal and Praveen Kumar clinch gold medals
257 athletes from 8 nations are competing in the competition
India's star Para High Jumper Praveen Kumar, known for his dedication and self-belief, clinched yet another gold medal to improve his competition record as the hosts collected multiple medals on the opening day of the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
The 2024 Paris Paralympics gold medallist dominated the men's T44 high jump, soaring 1.96m high to take the top podium spot in front of home support.
Fellow Indians Unni Renu (1.86m) and Banti (1.83m) also secured silver and bronze medals respectively in what was an event largely dominated by Indians, with very limited foreign entries.
Shailesh Wins Gold In T42 High Jump While Ramsingbhai And Lokesh Complete India's Clean Sweep
Other than Praveen, Shailesh Kumar also won gold in the men's T42 high jump with a leap of 1.84m, while Ramsingbhai Gov Padhiyar (1.65m) and Lokesh Mantra (1.60m) finished second and third respectively to complete India's clean sweep in the event.
Preeti Pal's Golden Delight Continues
In the women's 100m T35/T37 event, Preeti Pal, who was a double bronze medallist at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, landed a gold after clocking 14.46 seconds, pushing Margarita Mataeva to second place (16.25s), while Karina Machulskaia took bronze in 17.38 seconds.
This marks Preeti Pal’s second major medal in less than a year after she had secured silver at the World Para Athletics Championships at the same venue last year.
Elsewhere In The Grand Prix
In the men's discus throw F11/F12, Monu won gold with a throw of 34.30m, Praveen Sharma took silver with 32.96m, and Sanjay Reddy Neelam secured bronze with 30.15m, giving India another podium sweep.
Indian athletes also dominated the men's discus throw F37 event, where Haney won gold with a throw of 50.95m, while Rishi Raj Rathore secured silver with 46.25m and Bhavishay took bronze with 45.35m.
In the women's 1500m T11/T12, India claimed all three medals with Soumya winning gold in 5:18.94, Rakshita Raju securing silver in 5:28.30, and Radha Venkatesh taking bronze with a time of 5:25.48.
In the women's shot put F33/F34 event, Galina Lipatnikova won gold with a throw of 7.39m, while compatriot Vera Isakova secured silver with 6.11m. India’s Dipika Rani claimed bronze with 5.05m in one of the few events dominated by foreign athletes.
In the women's shot put F56 event, Poonam won gold with a throw of 6.85m, followed by Zeljka Sandrk of Bosnia and Herzegovina who secured silver with 6.16m, while Vijayashree Kumar of India claimed bronze with 4.69m.
India swept the podium again in the men's 1500m T11, where Ankur Dhama won gold with a time of 4:38.15, Keshavamurthy secured silver with 4:41.91, and Ravikumar Bankalagi claimed bronze with 5:41.80.
In the men's 1500m T20, Vladilen Voloshin of Russia won gold with a time of 3:56.01, followed by Kirill Kirikov of Russia who secured silver with 4:08.07, while India's Bhushan claimed bronze with 4:31.98.
Rakeshbhai Bhatt dominated the men's 100m T36/T37/T38 event, securing gold, while Vladislav Kostin of Russia took the silver. Serbia's Darko Marisavljevic won gold in the men's 1500m T12/T13, while Sharath Makanahali of India secured silver and Saurabh Sharma claimed bronze.
India also dominated the men's 1500m T37/T46 event, with Raman Sharma winning gold, Sharwan taking silver, and Rakesh Bharia securing bronze.
A total of 257 athletes from eight nations are competing in the Grand Prix, the second leg of the season, with India fielding 219 athletes across multiple track-and-field events and sport classifications.
