World Para Athletics Championship Day 1: India Hits the Ground Running with Gold, Silver, and Bronze

India couldn't have asked for a better start to the World Para Athletics Championships on home turf, bagging an impressive haul of three medals including one gold, one silver, and one bronze on a thrilling opening day.

The energy at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium hit fever pitch, as the Indian para-athletes stepped up to deliver world-class performances. This brilliant three-medal tally has set the tone for the rest of the competition, which is being held for the first time on Indian soil.

The day’s biggest cheer came from the Men's High Jump T63 final, where Shailesh Kumar bagged India's first gold medal. Shailesh cleared an incredible height of 1.91m, which was not only his personal best but also broke the Championship and Asian records. He comfortably outperformed the reigning Paralympic champion, USA's Ezra Frech 1.85m.

This event turned into a double delight for the hosts, as Varun Singh Bhati also secured a medal, bagging the bronze. Bhati matched the silver medallist's height of 1.85m but took third place on countback, rounding off a magnificent start in the field events.

The good news continued on the track with Deepthi Jeevanji powering her way to a silver medal in the Women's 400m T20 final. Deepthi clocked a season-best time of 55.16s. Her strong run placed her second, just behind Turkiye's Aysel Onder, who claimed gold with a new World Record of 54.51s.

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Nearly missed podium finishes at Day 1 of World Para Athletics Championship

While three medals marked a fantastic return, a number of other Indian athletes gave it their all on Day 1, with several coming very close to adding to the tally.

In the same Men's High Jump T63 final where India won gold and bronze, Rahul put up a valiant effort, finishing in fourth position with a personal best jump of 1.78m, a performance that narrowly missed a podium finish.

Over in the throwing events, Manu competed in the Men's Shot Put F37 final and finished 9th overall, with his best throw measured at 13.43m. Similarly, Bhavanaben Ajabaji finished 8th in the Women's Javelin F46 final with a throw of 35.34m, and Kanchan Lakhani placed 5th in the Women's Discus Throw F53 final, achieving a distance of 9.68m.

On the track, sprinters Rakeshbhai Bhatt with a time of 11.62s in Heat 1 and Shreyansh Trivedi with a time of 11.94s in Heat 3 both successfully qualified for the next round of the Men's 100m T37 event. Their progression has ensured that India will have more medal hopefuls in action on Day 2.