Four from UP win six medals, shine at World Para Athletics

Uttar Pradesh athletes excelled at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships, contributing to India's record 22 medals, including Simran Sharma's gold and silver.

Four athletes and six medals–highlight the success story of Uttar Pradesh at the just concluded 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, where hosts India finished with the best ever record haul of medals.

Simran Sharma celebrates her win at the Para World Athletics in New Delhi. (HT File Photo)

India’s 73-member contingent won 22 medals - six gold, nine silver, and seven bronze, finishing 10th in the medals’ tally. This was an increase from the last edition, in Kobe, Japan in 2024, where India won 17 medals (six gold medals, five silver, and six bronze medals). For context, India had won nine medals in the Dubai edition in 2019 and 10 medals in Paris in 2023.

India’s story has significant contributions from the athletes of Uttar Pradesh, who finished with one gold, two silver and three bronzes. The biggest achiever among Uttar Pradesh athletes was Ghaziabad’s Simran Sharma, who won a gold and a silver in the women’s 100m T12 and women’s 200m T12 events.

Besides, Preethi Pal of Meerut won two silver medals in women’s 100m and 200m T35 categories, Noida’s Praveen Kumar bagged a bronze in the men’s high jump T64 category, whereas Varun Bhati of Greater Noida bagged a bronze in the men’s high jump T63 category.

Undoubtedly, Simran’s journey to becoming one of India’s brightest para athletics stars is a story of resolve, resilience, and relentless pursuit of excellence. At the 2025 Para World Athletics Championships, she brought immense pride to the nation by clinching two medals — a gold in the women’s T13 100m and a silver in the 200m event — firmly establishing herself as a leading force in Indian para sprinting.

Born with visual impairment in Rajasthan, Simran’s early life was defined by determination to prove that limitation was only a matter of perception. She began training as a teenager under the guidance of local coaches who quickly recognised her talent.

Her big breakthrough came when she earned a place in India’s para athletics camp, where she trained under specialised coaches and accessed professional facilities for the first time.

Simran first drew attention with her performances at the Tokyo Paralympics 2021, where she became the first Indian woman T13 sprinter to qualify for the Games. Though she narrowly missed a medal there, the experience lit a spark she never let fade.

Over the next few years, she honed her start, stride rhythm, and race temperament across various international competitions, steadily improving her world rankings.

Glory in 2025

At the Para World Athletics Championships 2025, held in Kobe, Japan, Simran arrived with quiet confidence. In the 100m final, she exploded off the blocks and maintained a smooth high-speed phase that saw her cross the line in 11.96 seconds — a personal best and a new Asian record.

It was India’s first gold medal at the championships and a performance that stunned even seasoned observers.Two days later, she returned for the 200m race. Battling strong headwinds and stiff competition from Brazil’s and Ukraine’s top sprinters, Simran’s composure stood out. She surged through the final 50 meters to clinch silver in 24.87 seconds, missing gold by a fraction.

Simran, however, accepted that every event teaches something new to an athlete and she too has learnt many things. “Even though I learnt many things after winning a bronze at the 2024 Paralympics at Paris and I learnt a few more things in this World Championship,” she said, adding, “All those experiences will help me do much better when I compete at the Asian Para Games and Los Angeles Paralympics.”