Sprinters help Brazil end New Delhi 2025 in blaze of glory; India bags its biggest haul

New Delhi [India], October 5 (ANI): Brazil's women sprinters Jerusa Geber (200m T11) and Clara D Barros Da Silva (200m T12) won gold medals to help their country beat back a strong final-day surge in the New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships that drew to a close at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Sunday.

China did not top the medals table for the first time since finishing sixth in 2013. Brazil claimed the privilege with 15 gold, 20 silver and 9 bronze for a total of 44 medals. China, which has led the table in five successive editions from 2015 to 2024, claimed eight more medals than Brazil. However, with 13 gold, 22 silver and 17 bronze, China was second this time, according to a press release from PCI.

Chinese athletes won three gold medals in the final session, which would have been enough to turn the tables on Brazil in the race for the top, but the Latin American nation was well served by its sprinters and kept its lead on the medal table. It was a credible performance by the Brazilians, taking pride of place after finishing second in three successive editions.

India finished 10th, though it secured the biggest haul in any edition of the World Championships. The home side claimed six gold, nine silver and seven bronze medals, thanks to silver medals for Simran in the women's 100m T12, Preeti Pal in the women's 100m T35 and Navdeep in the men's Javelin Throw T41, as well as bronze for Sandeep in the men's 200m T44 on Sunday.

Simran did well to script another fine run, creating an Asian record of 24.46 seconds, but that was good enough only for a silver medal. Venezuela's Alejandra Paola Perez Lopez, who had finished first, was disqualified for violating a rule on pulling, slingshotting, and assistance. That led to Simran's medal being upgraded to a silver one.

Simran emerged as the Indian star of the Championships with a gold and a silver, while Preeti Pal was the other home athlete who won two medals - a silver and a bronze. India, which had finished sixth in 2024 with fewer medals, can take heart from the fact that more athletes got among the podium finishers, while several were a whisker away from the medals.

If Simran's bronze medal finish was converted in the jury room to a silver, a ruling would see the women's 100m T35 final being re-run. The race had to be rerun after the jury ruled that there was a gun malfunction at the start of the scheduled race. Preeti Pal made the most of the opportunity to win silver.

As many as 35 world records and 104 championship records were created during the nine days of intense competition on the newly laid Mondo track in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. 35 world records are equal to Paris 2023 and 14 more than last year's event in Kobe, Japan. As many as 44 nations won at least one gold medal, and as many as 63 countries went home with at least one medal to show for their efforts. (ANI)

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