New Delhi, Sep 30: It was a morning of high drama and record-breaking performances at the IndianOil New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships, as Saudi Arabia's Naif Almasrahi stormed to a new world record in the men's 100m T44 final with a blistering 10.94 seconds, while India's Yogesh Kathuniya secured silver in the F56 discus throw.
Kathuniya, cheered on by the home crowd at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, produced a best throw of 42.49m to finish second behind Brazilian Claudiney Batista, who dominated with a gold-winning 45.67m.
This was Kathuniya's third successive World Championships silver, adding to his two Paralympic silver medals, underlining his remarkable consistency on the global stage.
"It is a different feeling since I won silver
on my home ground. Everyone was cheering me on," said an emotional Kathuniya, acknowledging the crowd support in New Delhi.
His coach Lakhwinder Singh admitted they had hoped for gold but praised the planning and execution behind the medal-winning effort.
World Records & Championships Records tumble
Naif Almasrahi's sprinting masterclass was the only world record of the morning session, breaking the previous mark of 11.00 seconds set in 2019. "I wasn't prepared to get this time. but my competitor pushed me to run faster," Almasrahi said.
There were three new Championships Records as well:
- David Dzhatiev (Neutral Para Athlete) in the men's 200m T35 with 23.01s
- David Jose Pineda Mejia (Spain) in the men's 400m T20 with 47.12s
- Yassine Gharbi (Tunisia) in the men's 400m T54 with 44.96s
For Gharbi, it was a particularly emotional return to the podium after serving a doping ban and missing out on multiple global competitions.
Medal standings heat up
Brazil's dominance in para-athletics continued as Batista's discus gold helped them surge past China in the medal tally.
- Brazil: 5 gold, 10 silver, 2 bronze
- China: 4 gold, 7 silver, 4 bronze
- India: 2 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze (7th place overall)
Other results of the day
Men's 1500m T13: Joel Gomez (USA) wins gold in 3:57.71
Men's Long Jump T12: Fernando Vazquez (Argentina) takes gold with 7.01m
Men's Shot Put F41: Niko Kappel (Germany) wins with 13.34m
Women's Shot Put F54: Gloria Zarca (Mexico) claims gold with 7.97m; India's Keerthika Jayachandran finishes 6th
