India Tops Medal Tally at World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2025–26
India’s para-athletics ecosystem registered a significant achievement by dominating both the World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2025 (New Delhi) and the opening leg of the World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2026 (Dubai). Indian para-athletes secured top positions in the medal standings, reflecting the country's growing strength in international para-sports ahead of major global competitions, including the World Para Athletics Championships.
Indian para-athletes began the 2026 season on a strong note by finishing at the top of the medal standings at the 17th Fazza International Athletics Championships (Dubai 2026 Grand Prix).India secured a total of 43 medals, comprising 16 Gold, 13 Silver and 14 Bronze medals. Colombia finished second with 20 medals including 11 gold, while Kenya secured third position with 20 medals including six gold medals. Hosts UAE finished fourth with 31 medals and six gold medals.The performance was particularly important because India was scheduled to host the next leg of the World Para Athletics Grand Prix at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.
Sumit Antil, the two-time Paralympic champion, continued his dominance by winning gold in the Men’s Javelin Throw F64 category.Other notable gold medal performances included:
Preeti Pal further added a bronze medal in the Women's 200m T35 event.Bhagyashri M. Jadhav's double gold marked a successful return to international competition and highlighted India's strength in field events.
The New Delhi leg of the Grand Prix was held from 11–13 March 2026 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
The event featured:
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Participating Nations | 8 |
| Total Athletes | 257 |
| Indian Athletes | 219 |
| Total Competitions | 74 |
| Physical Impairment Events | 39 |
| Vision Impairment Events | 29 |
| Intellectual Impairment Events | 6 |
Countries participating included India, Russia, Nepal, Bhutan, Hong Kong China, Serbia, Bosnia and Egypt.
India's campaign was led by several Paralympic champions and international medal winners:
The New Delhi event served as the second stop of the 2026 World Para Athletics Grand Prix calendar after Dubai and before the concluding leg in Cali, Colombia.
India hosted its first-ever World Para Athletics Grand Prix in New Delhi from 11–13 March 2025.
India finished first with:
| Medal | Number |
|---|---|
| Gold | 45 |
| Silver | 40 |
| Bronze | 49 |
| Total | 134 |
This was one of India's most successful performances in an international para-athletics competition.
India made an impressive start with several podium finishes.
India completed a clean sweep:
| Position | Athlete |
|---|---|
| Gold | Sagar |
| Silver | Balaji Rajendran |
| Bronze | Janak Singh Harsana |
Other notable performances included:
India strengthened its dominance across both track and field events.
| Position | Athlete |
|---|---|
| Gold | Pushpendra Singh |
| Silver | Mohit |
| Bronze | Jaswant |
By the end of Day 2, India had accumulated 95 medals, including 33 Gold, 29 Silver and 33 Bronze medals.
India continued its dominance with multiple podium sweeps.
| Position | Athlete |
|---|---|
| Gold | Sagar |
| Silver | Janka Singh |
| Bronze | Balaji Rajendran |
| Position | Athlete |
|---|---|
| Gold | Fatima |
| Silver | Suman Bala |
| Bronze | Asha Jalandar |
| Position | Athlete |
|---|---|
| Gold | Sharath |
| Silver | Saurabh |
| Bronze | Ankur |
Mahendra Gurjar emerged as one of India's biggest para-athletics success stories in 2025.At the Nottwil World Para Athletics Grand Prix (Switzerland), he established a new World Record in Men's F42 Javelin with a throw of 61.17 metres, surpassing the previous record of 59.19 metres.Later, at the Indian Open International Para Athletics Championships, Bengaluru, he improved his own world record further to 63.16 metres.He also won gold in the Long Jump T42 event during the Swiss competition.
Double Paralympic champion Sumit Antil remains the dominant athlete in the Men's F64 Javelin category.Having already established a world record of 73.29 metres, Sumit has expressed ambitions of becoming the first para-athlete to breach the 80-metre mark.To improve further, he has begun participating in able-bodied athletics competitions, including the AtletiCAGeneve meet, where he competed against athletes regularly throwing beyond 78–79 metres.This reflects the increasing competitiveness and professionalization of Indian para-athletics.
The consistent performances across the 2025 and 2026 Grand Prix circuits indicate:
The Grand Prix performances have positioned India as one of the leading nations in world para-athletics ahead of future international championships.
| Classification | Description |
|---|---|
| F | Field Events |
| T | Track Events |
| F64 | Athletes with lower limb impairment or limb loss competing in field events |
| F42 | Athletes with moderate movement impairment in one leg |
| T63/T64 | Athletes with lower limb impairment competing in track or jump events |
| T35 | Athletes with coordination impairments |
Updated – 17 February 2026 ; 07:18 PM | The Statesman, Olympics.com, News on Air, DD News, India Today, Sportstar, The New Indian Express, Times of India, Deccan Chronicle