New Delhi: India made a powerful start at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix as star high jumper Praveen Kumar clinched gold in the men’s T44 high jump event. The 2024 Summer Paralympics champion cleared 1.96 metres to comfortably secure the top podium position.
Fellow Indian athletes also impressed in the event, with Unni Renu taking silver after clearing 1.86 metres and Banti claiming bronze with a jump of 1.83 metres, completing an Indian dominated podium.
India achieved another clean sweep in the men’s T42 high jump. Shailesh Kumar won gold with a leap of 1.84 metres, while Ramsingbhai Gov Padhiyar secured silver with 1.65 metres and Lokesh Mantra finished with bronze after clearing 1.60 metres.
In track events, Preeti Pal delivered a strong performance in the women’s 100 metres T35 and T37 category. The double bronze medallist from the Paris Paralympics clocked 14.46 seconds to win gold, ahead of Margarita Mataeva and Karina Machulskaia who finished second and third respectively. The medal added to Preeti Pal’s growing list of achievements after her silver at the previous world championships.
India also dominated several field events. Monu won gold in the men’s discus throw F11 and F12 with a throw of 34.30 metres, while Praveen Sharma and Sanjay Reddy Neelam secured silver and bronze.
In the women’s 1500 metres T11 and T12 category, Soumya won gold with a time of 5 minutes 18.94 seconds, followed by Rakshita Raju and Radha Venkatesh who completed another Indian podium sweep.
A total of 257 athletes from eight countries are competing in the second leg of the Grand Prix season, with India fielding the largest contingent of 219 athletes across multiple track and field events and sport classifications.
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