Final flourish from Simran as India end with best-ever medal haul

Kobe (Japan), May 25

India ended their World Para Athletics Championships campaign with unprecedented success, scooping 17 medals, including six gold, to take the sixth spot in the standings with Delhi sprinter Simran Sharma winning the country’s sixth gold here today.

Simran won the women’s 200 metres T12 event with a personal best time of 24.95 seconds on the final day of competitions. She shaved off around one-fifth of a second from her earlier personal best of 25.16s to win the gold.

Darlenys De La Severino (25.08s) of Dominica and Lorraine Gomes De Aguiar of Brazil (25.40s) won silver and bronze, respectively.

The T12 category is meant for athletes who have vision impairment.

India finished with six gold, five silver and six bronze. This is the country’s best-ever performance, having surpassed the earlier record medal haul of 10 medals (three gold, four silver and three bronze) won in the 2023 edition in Paris.