With the World Para Athletics Championships 2025 nearing its closure on October 5, an unfortunate incident took place on Friday, October 3. With the para championships underway in the national capital, it was clouded by a massive outrage after stray dogs attacked foreign coaches at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium on October 3.
On the morning of Friday, during a warm-up track session, the World Para Athletics Championships was surrounded by safety concerns after support staff members were attacked. Japanese fencing coach Meiko Okumatsu and Kenyan sprint coach Dennis Maragia Mwanzo were bitten by stray dogs while they oversaw their athletes train. Not only this, a security guard of the stadium was also attacked.
World Para Athletics Championships surrounded by safety concerns after stray dogs attack coaches
“Three dog bites in 30 minutes. Japan,
Kenya, security guard. Please ensure the dogs are taken out of the stadium. This is getting beyond alarming,” on of the messages in the WPAC’s Local Organising Committee’s (LOC) Whatsapp group read. After the incident, it came to be known that this wasn’t the first time as it was the fifth after previous attacks involved security officials, volunteers and stadium officials.
Furthermore a source close to the developments said, “The matter was never highlighted. It was kept under wraps. The Sports Authority of India (SAI)-run medical centre at the JLN premises for this event was aware of these incidents. Since this time, it involved the foreign officials (coaches) and their team members, the issue came out in public.”
However, the WPAC’s organising committee later issued a statement which attributed to the incidents. They also requested the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to safeguard the stadium and requesting the stationing of dog-catching vehicles.
