World Para Athletics Championships 2025: All eyes on Simran and Navdeep as Praveen battles hip pain for high jump bronze

The spotlight was on Praveen Kumar at the ongoing 2025 World Para Athletics Championships on Saturday (October 4). The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium crowd knew he had delivered for India on multiple occasions, and this was another moment of expectation. India stood on the brink of their best-ever gold medal tally at the worlds — one short of surpassing their six-gold haul from Kobe — and Praveen had a shot at making history.

The men’s high jump T64 final had its share of drama. Praveen, with his characteristically short run-up, asked the buzzing crowd for silence before each attempt, tuning into the intensity of the moment. He cleared crucial heights with composure, but Uzbekistan’s Temurbek Giyazov produced a personal best of 2.03m to clinch gold, while Great Britain’s Jonathan Broom-Edwards grabbed silver with 2.00m. Praveen had to settle for bronze on countback, clearly disappointed but dignified in defeat. “I did my best, but I was carrying a hip injury that caused pain right in the middle. That affected my performance. I’ll aim for gold next time,” Praveen said after the event.

The mood in the stands soon lifted when Ekta Bhyan picked up a silver medal in the women’s club throw F51. She registered a season-best mark of 19.80m, but Ukraine’s Zoia Ovsii was in a different league from her very first attempt, setting the tone with a best throw of 24.03m. Ekta acknowledged the Ukrainian’s dominance while taking pride in her own performance. “Yes, I threw over 21m at the Asian Games and I’ve won gold at the World Championships before, but today I’m happy with my season-best. Ovsii was outstanding,” she said.

The attention now turns to the final day, where sprint sensation Simran and Paralympic javelin champion Navdeep Singh will headline India’s campaign. Simran, who won 100m gold on Friday (October 3), continued her fine form by winning her 200m T12 heat alongside guide Umar Saifi, clocking a season-best 25.03s to reach the semifinals. Her coach and husband Gajendra Singh stressed the importance of focus. “We’ve moved on from the 100m gold. Tomorrow’s final is a new challenge — it’s a world championship, anything can happen. The key is to stay fit, hydrated, and ready for the conditions,” he said.

Adding to India’s medal tally, Soman Rana secured silver in the men’s shot put F57 with a season-best 14.69m. Initially awarded bronze, his medal was upgraded following a successful protest against Thiago Paulino Dos Santos’ 14.82m attempt. Fellow Indians Hokato Hotozhe Sema and Shubham Juyal were also in the field. With Rana’s medal, India not only crossed their Kobe tally of 17 overall medals but confirmed this edition as their most successful World Para Athletics Championships ever.