New Delhi to host Para Athletics World Championships 2025
India's capital city New Delhi is set to host the 2025 Para Athletics World Championships, as confirmed by the World Para Athletics (WPA) in a statement on Thursday, December 19. It will be the first time that the tournament will take place on Indian soil. The competition has been scheduled from September 26 to October 5, 2025, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
This will be the 12th edition of the tournament and Asia will host for the fourth time. Qatar hosted the championships in 2015, followed by the United Arab Emirates in 2019. Japan hosted the 2024 edition of the World Championships. For the New Delhi edition, more than 1000 athletes from 100 countries are expected to ply their trade.
In a recent media release, Paul Fitzgerald, the head of the World Para Athletics, spoke about how the World Championships will impact more specially-abled athletes in India.
“We are delighted to announce that the first major championships of the new Paralympic cycle towards Los Angeles 2028 will be hosted in New Delhi. The 2025 Para Athletics World Championships will be the largest international Para sport event ever to take place in India, representing a massive opportunity to grow our sport, our fan base, and to impact society’s perception of persons with disabilities in the world’s most populous nation,” Fitzgerald said (via NDTV).
Para Athletics World Championships 2025 - A significant milestone in India’s journey
The National Paralympic Committee of India (NPC) spoke about how the upcoming World Championships could strengthen India’s bid to host the Olympics and Paralympics in 2036.
“NPC India is privileged to host the Para Athletics World Championships for the first time in India. This historic event marks a significant milestone in India’s journey to becoming a global sporting powerhouse and strengthens our bid to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” NPC said (via NDTV).
India had a memorable time in the previous edition of the Championships in Kobe, Japan, where they finished in the top six for the first time. China topped the medals table with 33 golds.