India put on a stellar performance at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix to end the competition with a stunning medal as Priti Pal grabbed the attention with a powerful sprint display on the final day.A double medalist at the 2024 Summer Paralympics, Preity produced another impressive performance by winning gold in the women’s 200m (T35–T37). The 25-year-old from Meerut clocked 30.26 seconds to comfortably outpace the field to claim the 100m gold title she had won the day before.Russia’s Karina Machulskaya took silver with a time of 32.22 seconds, while India’s Bina Shambhubha completed the podium with bronze in 32.35 seconds.India ended the meet with 208 medals – 75 gold, 69 silver, and 64 bronze – in a campaign that highlighted the country’s growing strength in para-athletics, despite relatively limited international participation in the field. Russia finished second overall with 35 medals (15 gold, 14 silver, 6 bronze) while Bosnia and Herzegovina finished third with three medals (one gold and two silver) from eight competing teams.Reflecting on her performance after bagging her second gold medal, Preeti admitted that she fell far short of the mark she had set for herself.“I reduced my target in the Grand Prix by one microsecond. Overall, things are going well. In four days, I will leave for the Nationals, and since it is the off-season, I am satisfied with my performance,” Preeti said after winning her second gold here.She also revealed that her training performance shows that she is capable of running even faster.“My personal best time is 30.03 seconds, and in practice I have already achieved a time of 29.6 seconds, which is encouraging. However, I felt tired as I approached the finish line, which has not happened before. I am currently working on improving that,” she added.India also swept the field events, sweeping all three medals in the men’s shot put F57 category. Shubham Joyal won gold with a throw of 14.45m while Bhagat Singh bagged silver with 13.29m and Priyankumar bagged bronze with 13.07m. Joyal’s performance marked a marked improvement from his throw of 13.72 meters at last year’s World Para Athletics Championships, highlighting the continued growth of the Indian Army’s para-athletes.In the men’s 200m T35 event, Vinay won gold with a time of 28.18 seconds, ahead of Anubhu Chaudhary, who took silver in 29.49 seconds. Hong Kong’s Choi Yeo-bao won the bronze medal.India made another clean sweep in the men’s 200m T37–T44 category. Rakeshbhai Bhatt won the gold medal in 25.20 seconds, followed by Siddharth Manju Bellary in 28.23 seconds and Ravikaran Asareli in 31.50 seconds in bronze.The hosts also dominated the men’s 800m T53–T54 race. Manoj Kumar Sabapati claimed the gold with a time of 1:57.41, while Manikandan Jothy took silver in 2:11.14 and Kamalakanta Nayak took bronze in 2:20.83.
Simran hopes that she will not be stripped of the world medals.
Meanwhile, Indian visually impaired para-sprinter Simran Sharma She hoped to retain the medals she won at last year’s World Para Athletics Championships despite the suspension of her guide runner.Simran won gold in women’s 100m (T12) and silver in 200m at the championships. However, its guide runner Umar Safi was provisionally suspended on 9 October 2025 after testing positive for the banned anabolic steroid, drostinolone, according to a list released by the National Anti-Doping Agency. The test was reportedly conducted on September 7, 2025, during the Delhi State Open.Under International Paralympic Committee regulations, guides in T12 events are classified as “athlete support personnel”, meaning that a doping violation by a guide could potentially disqualify an athlete’s results.Simran, who is currently on the sidelines with an injury and is therefore not participating in the ongoing Grand Prix, said she was hopeful that her medals would not be taken away.“I am very hopeful that I will not lose my medals. I worked very hard for them. There have been instances where athletes have not been stripped of their medals even when their guide tested positive for a banned substance,” Simran said on the sidelines of the Grand Prix.She has since moved on from Sefi’s suspension and is now working with a new guide runner as she prepares for the Asian Para Games in Japan later this year.Asked when a final decision on his appeal might come, Simran said the timeline was still unclear.“I don’t know yet, but I am continuing my preparations for the Asian Para Games. I didn’t compete in the season-opening Grand Prix in Dubai last month or the ongoing competition here, as I want to keep my body injury-free for the Asian Para Games,” she said.
