Indian para sport ready to break out

India's strongest-ever para-athletics contingent is poised to make history as Delhi hosts the World Championships

- Deepti Patwardhan

(top) Praveen Kumar; (above) Mahendra Gurjar (left) and Deepthi Jeevanji; and Preethi Pal.

(FACEBOOK/MAHENDRA GURJAR PHOTOGRAPHS FROM GETTY IMAGE)

Before May, not a single para javelin thrower in the F42 category had crossed the 60m mark. In the last four months, India's Mahendra Gurjar has breached the barrier thrice. He first burst on to the stage on 26 May at the Nottwil World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Switzerland, setting a new world record mark of 61.17m, eclipsing Roberto Floriani Edenilson's record of 59.19m set in 2022.

At the India Open Para Athletics Championships in Bengaluru in July, he recorded two throws over 60m, setting a new world record of 63.16m. For a nonathlete these numbers may sound dull, but for Gurjar these are milestones in a journey he began around eight years ago, from Rajasthan's Sakhoon village that has a population of less than 10,000.

"No one else in our village is remotely connected to sport," says Gurjar, who suffered an impairment in his left leg due to polio. "I come from a family of farmers; as a kid I used to help out in the farm. Maybe that's where I started building strength. It was my brother who told me about para sport when I was 19. But I did well almost immediately, and the dream has grown bigger with every meet, every achievement."

Having created the world record, the 27-year-old is now ready to conquer the world.

Gurjar is among the 35 debutants who will line up at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships as the event comes to India for the very first time. Less than 10 years ago, India did not even have a properly functioning para sport federation. But starting 27 September, New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will host the sporting extravaganza, marking the first time that the World Championships is taking place in South Asia.