Advised against travelling to WPAC, long jump record-breaker Luca Ekler mesmerised by kindness of India people

New Delhi [India], October 1 (ANI): Luca Ekler proved once again the reason she is classified as an exceptional athlete. At the New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday, the Hungarian athlete participated in two events, setting a new world record in one and qualifying for the final in another, all within a matter of a couple of hours.

The 26-year-old twice set a new world record in the women's long jump T38 final, with a distance of 5.91 being her best. She has improved on her performances many times before, too. She looked absolutely thrilled. It will come as a surprise to many that she was advised against travelling to India for one reason or another.

"This is my best competition of the year. Also, this is my best performance in the last three years. It feels like pieces of the puzzle are nicely put together here. I think the warm weather here played a big part. It was good for my body. I didn't have to warm up. The atmosphere in the stadium also worked for me, so I am really happy. Of course, I have trained very hard for this, for the past 8 years, and every year was a step," she said with an endearing smile as quoted from a press release by PCI.

Even though she was advised against travelling to India, here she finds herself in another world, which has added to her experience. "I think people in India are very kind, that for me is the best part of the world championships. My experience has been very good so far. Of course, I want to go sightseeing, which I have not been able to do so far because of the event," the two-time Paralympic gold winner in long jump said.

Within a couple of hours, Ekler, Paris World Championships gold winner in 2023, also ran in the 200m T38 Round 1 Heat 2 and finished third to qualify for the final. She didn't look troubled at all in any way. When asked if finishing first was the target for her, she said, "No, I just wanted to qualify. I was not targeting first place. Because I participated in the long jump an hour ago, and I was tired."

Ekler, paralysed on the left side of her body because of a stroke at the age of 10, for the past few years has been spreading awareness about para sports in Hungary. When asked if she has succeeded in her efforts to some degree, she said, "I think it's improving year by year. It's my mission to help spread awareness." (ANI)

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