NEW DELHI: Every revolution begins with a voice, a cry that cuts through doubt and demands belief. Paris Paralympics were not just another Games for India’s para-athletes but a turning point, when the world finally sat up and took notice. And no one summed it up better than javelin icon Navdeep Singh: “Before Paris, no one. After Paris, champion.”In a few days, when the New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships open on September 27 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the roar of a billion hearts will meet the resolve of 73 athletes, the largest ever Indian contingent at a World Championships.A country that returned from the Paris Paralympics with 29 medals, including 17 in athletics, and stamped its authority at the Kobe Worlds with another 17 medals, now has the chance to show the world its power on home soil.For the first time ever, the stage is India’s.The pressure, of course, is immense. Simran Sharma, the reigning world champion in the women’s 200 metres T12 event, admits it with refreshing honesty.“There is definitely pressure on the home ground. Where there is support, there are also expectations. I won gold at the last World Championship, so somewhere I have to defend that medal,” she tells TimesofIndia.com.
“I have prepared very well”: Navdeep Singh ahead of World Para Athletics Championships 2025
If Simran carries the weight of expectation, Navdeep carries the wisdom of detachment.“Preparations are going well. Earlier, I had some disturbance with the runway, but now it’s fine. I still have time to make corrections and will keep working to perform even better,” he adds.“Winning gold is fine, but the negative comments that people pass, I don’t keep them in my mind or my heart. I listen to some music; it relaxes me. I never let negative thoughts overpower me.”This philosophy, of living in the present, of turning away from bitterness, is what makes champions.And then there is Preethi Pal, India’s first Paralympic track medalist, chosen as the Indian flagbearer for the Championships. “Preparations are going well. But as it is with exams, only the result will tell what will happen on the day,” she says with a broad smile.For her, though, Delhi 2025 is not just another competition.
Medals for the World Para Athletics Championships being unveiled during an event organised by Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), in New Delhi. (PTI)
And one reason is the brand new Mondo track, laid at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to match the standards of the world’s greatest sporting arenas.“This is our first Mondo track at the JLN Stadium, and it feels really good. Earlier, we trained on synthetic surfaces, and suddenly moving to Mondo feels different. It feels like guests are coming home and we will be competing with them right here,” she continues.The Mondo track gives the para-athletes an opportunity to showcase their mettle on a world-class, Olympic-standard athletics surface.But even during her peak, Preethi can’t brush off the heartbreak of the last Asian Games, where she missed a medal by mere milliseconds“I missed a medal in my very first international tournament by just milliseconds. It felt terrible. But people told me, ‘The World Championships and Paralympics are still ahead.’ I laughed at first, thinking if I couldn’t win at the Asian Games, how would I ever win at a World Championship? But they said, ‘Trust yourself.’ When you trust yourself, your body responds accordingly. That’s why I believe we must always think positive,” the Arjun Awardee reveals.
India’s acclaimed para-athlete, Preeti Pal, a double bronze medallist at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, has been officially named the flag bearer for India’s contingent at the upcoming prestigious New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships.
“Anyone who gets fame also faces negative comments, whether it’s us or Bollywood stars. But most people are supportive,” the 25-year-old confesses, unflinchingly confronting the harsh realities of being a para-athlete.“Some say we are just running for timepass, that our medals come easy. They should come see us train: we throw up, we fall sick, we push ourselves to the limit. They only see the medal and the prize money, never the sweat and struggle behind it.”Yet for Preethi, like her teammates, actions speak louder than words, louder enough to silence critics: “After Paris, my confidence has gone up. The hesitation is gone. The more tournaments we play, the better we perform.”
