New Delhi, Oct 3 (NationPress) Nishad Kumar and Simran captured the attention of an enthusiastic home crowd with their incredible gold medal performances just moments apart in the men’s high jump T47 and women’s 100m T12, respectively, during the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships (WAPC) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Friday.

Thanks to these two gold medals achieved within minutes, India surged from 11th to 4th place on the medals table. Brazil remains in the lead with 12 gold, 18 silver, and 7 bronze, while China follows with 9 gold, 16 silver, and 13 bronze. Poland holds the third position with 8 gold, 2 silver, and 5 bronze medals.

Earlier, Preeti Pal secured a bronze for India in the women’s 200m T36 final, and Pardeep Kumar added another bronze in the men’s Discus Throw F46 final, bringing India’s total to 6 gold, 5 silver, and 4 bronze medals, amounting to 15 overall.

Both Nishad Kumar and Simran displayed remarkable composure and skill, delighting the home fans. Nishad Kumar triumphed over Turkiye’s Abdulla Ilgaz and the three-time defending champion Roderick Townsend (USA) to clinch gold in style.

He maintained a flawless performance until the bar reached the World Record height of 2.18m, achieving the Asian Record after Abdulla Ilgaz had set a European mark at 2.08m. Nishad passed the 2.12m mark, intensifying the pressure on the Turkiye athlete after Townsend exited at just 2.03m.

The 25-year-old sprinter Simran also achieved a personal best, clocking 12.08 seconds in the semifinals earlier that day. Despite feeling nervous for the final, she showcased her confidence by breaking the 12-second barrier for the first time, finishing in 11.95 seconds with her guide Umar Saifi.

While Nishad Kumar and Simran stole much of the spotlight, they graciously acknowledged that it was fair to share it with Catherine Debrunner (Switzerland), who dominated the women’s T53 events with five gold medals, and Pongsakorn Paeyo of Thailand, who won his third gold in the men’s 800m T53.

Catherine Debrunner was instrumental in securing five of Switzerland’s six gold medals, triumphing in the 400m T53 final with a Championships Record time of 50.58 seconds. She made the event unforgettable in New Delhi, excelling across a variety of women's T53 (100m, 400m, and 800m) and T54 (1500m and 5000m) competitions.

Pongsakorn Paeyo added the men’s 100m T53 to his previous golds in the 400m and 800m, becoming the most successful male athlete with three golds. Danielle Aitchison set a new world record in the women’s 200m T35 final, while Annie Carey (USA) established a new world record in the women’s Long Jump T44.

Final Results:

Men

100m T11: 1. Athanosis Ghavelas (Greece) 10.96 seconds; 2. Ananias Shikongo (Namibia) 11.00; 3. Di Dongdong (China) 11.11.

100m T54: 1. Athiwat Paeng-Nuea (Thailand) 13.66 seconds; 2. Hu Yang (China) 13.81; 3. Mamudo Balde (Portugal) 13.86.

400m T12: 1. Mahdi Afri (Morocco) 49.440 seconds; 2. Fakhriddin Khamraev (Uzbekistan) 50.011; 3. Oguz Akbulut (Turkiye) 50.84.

400m T13: 1. Max Marzillier (Germany) 49.00 seconds; 2. Ryota Fukunaga (Japan) 49.03; 3. Bose Mokgwathi (Botswana) 49.77.

800m T53: 1. Pongsakorn Paeyo (Thailand) 1:35.76 (New Championships Record. Old: 1:38.38, B Lakatos, Canada, 2019); 2. Mohamed Nidhal Khelifi (Tunisia) 1:37.15; 3. Vithali Gritsenko (Neutral Para Athlete) 1:37.52.

High Jump T47: 1. Nishad Kumar (India) 2.14m; 2. Abdulla Ilgaz (Turkiye) 2.08; 3. Roderick Townsend (USA) 2.03; 5. Ram Pal (India) 1.94.

Long Jump T64: 1. Markus Rehm (Germany) 8.43m (New Championships Record. Old: 8.40, Markus Rehm, 2015); 2. Derek Loccident (USA) 8.21; 3. Jarryd Wallace (USA) 7.65; 7. Solairaj Dharmaraj (India) 7.08.

Shot Put F35: 1. Seyed Aliasghar Javanmardi (Iran) 17.17m; 2. Hernan Emanuel Urra (Argentina) 16.77; 3. Fu Xinhan (China) 15.64.

Shot Put F46: 1. Greg Stewart (Canada) 16.68m; 2. Joshua Cinnamo (USA) 16.08; 3. Luka Bakovic (Croatia) 15.83; 4. Sachin Sarjerao Khilari (India) 15.03; 6. Mohammed Yasser (India) 14.73; 8. Parveen (India) 14.24.

Discus Throw F44: 1. Andres F Mosquera Neira (Colombia) 60.26; 2. Akeem Stewart (Trinidad & Tobago) 59.64; 3. Dan Greaves (Great Britain) 52.42; 4. Sagar Thayat (India) 51.93; 6. Devender Kumar (India) 50.12; 8. Pardeep (India) 46.14.

Discus Throw F64: 1. Ivan Katanusic (Croatia) 55.12m; 2. Max Rohn (USA) 50.92; 3. Pardeep Kumar (India) 46.23; 5. Sharvan Kumar (India) 44.11.

Women

100m T12: 1. Simran (India) 11.95 seconds; 2. Liang Yanfen (China) 12.11; 3. Nagore Falgado Garcia (Spain) 12.11.

200m T35: 1. Danielle Aitchison (New Zealand) 27.19 seconds (New World Record. Old WR & CR: 27.47, Danielle Aitchison, 2024); 2. Mal Lovell (Australia) 30.62; 3. Cheyenna Bouthoorn (Netherlands) 30.95.

200m T36: 1. Guo Qianqian (China) 29.50 seconds; 2. Fatimah Suwaed (Iraq) 30.00; 3. Preeti Pal (India) 30.03.

400m T53: 1. Catherin Debrunner (Switzerland) 50.58 seconds (New Championships Record. Old: 55.22, Zhou Hongzhuan, China, 2017); 2. Hamide Dogangun (Turkiye) 53.72; Zhou Hongzhuan (China) 54.31.

400m T54: 1. Lea Bayekula (Belgium) 50.99 seconds; 2. Zhou Zhaoqian (China) 53.22; 3. Hannah Dederick (USA) 53.29.

Long Jump T64: 1. Fleur Jong (Netherlands) 6.81m (New Championships Record. Old: 5.74, Marie Amelie Fleur, France, 2015); Kiki Hendriks (Netherlands) 5.43; 3. Beatriz Hatz (USA) 5.38. Note: Annie Carey (USA) 5.20m set a new T44 World Record. Old T44 WR: 5.19, Annie Carey, USA, 2025).

Shot Put F33: 1. Svetlana Krivenok (Neutral Para Athlete) 8.14m (New Championships Record. Old: 7.81, L Kornobys, Poland, 2019); 2. Wu Qing (China) 7.56; 3. Julia Hanes (Canada) 7.51.