"107 countries participating and it is massive...": PCI president Jhajaria ahead of World Para Athletics C'ships

By Sahil Kohli

New Delhi [India], September 7 : With the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi starting from September 27, the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) president Devendra Jhajaria has said that the Indian contingent is hoping to win a rich haul of medals and is preparing for the event.

The newly inaugurated Mondotrack at the Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium will host the upcoming World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi from September 27 to October 5.

"There are 107 countries participating and it is massive. We will keep our players' spirits up. I came later in the administrative team. I was a player before. I check the rankings of my players daily, check the performance of my players...we are preparing to back our players. My players are physically fit. But you have to make them mentally fit during the competition. I focus a lot on mental fitness," Jhajaria told ANI.

"At Paris, a lot of our players with fourth or fifth rank ended up winning medals and I felt for the first time that our players have a really great level of mental strength. We have to keep increasing that. At Paris, no athlete was made to feel alone as they had their coach, manager and a whole team. We gave out India flags to the Indians who lived there and came to watch the event. Players did not feel alone. We will do something similar and keep that home advantage intact for us," he added.

Jhajaria recalled India's performance in 2024 Paris Paralympics (29 medals, seven golds, nine silver and 13 bronze medals) and the great atmosphere for para sports in the country.

"I want to tell you a little bit about how we won this world championship. How did India get the invitation for such a big event? The reason behind this was that the performance we gave in the Paris Paralympics, we won 29 medals in the Paralympics. In Tokyo, we won 19 medals and then 29 medals in Paris," he said.

"So, somewhere the IPC, the International Paralympic Committee, believed that India is growing very well in Para sports. We had a meeting with the IPC, the International Paralympic Committee, and World Para Athletics. So, we had said that there is a great atmosphere of Para sports in India. And we hoped that we will hold the best Para World Athletics Championships in the world. So, the IPC also believed that India can hold this event because our performance was the good in the Paralympics," he added.

Jhajaria said India wants to host 2036 Olympics and Paralympics.

"The biggest thing for me and the country is that so far, the entry of 107 countries has come, the highest ever for this event. This is a very big event and about 2,500 athletes and officials will be a part out it," he said.

For accomodating, training and acclimatisation of athletes, Jhajaria said that preparations have been made right from the time athletes land at the airport till the time they land to the stadium for their matches.

"Because we are training volunteers. We will have about 600 volunteers for this work. Then, the National Technical Officials of NTO will be around 150 of us. And the International Technical Officials, who bring IPC, WPF, World Para Athletics, will also be there," he said.

"So, we have booked hotels for our preparations. The team that has placed the demand for each hotel, we gave them exactly that. We have made all the preparations for their stay. For transport, we have tied up with DTC in Delhi. DTC will give us a bus, which will be para-friendly, they will have wheelchairs," he added.

Jhajaria hoped that this would be the most successful para athletics world championships.

"Sumit will be participating, who is our Paralympic gold medallist. He does not have legs. He has a world record to his name. I am sure he will topple his world record with a throw of above 75 m. Also, our Parveen is a high jumper and his height is five feet seven inches. He has a problem in his leg and has a short height and yet he jumped 2,08 metres, an Asian record. So lets suppose when people having depression will watch these athletes on TV, who are running, jumping and playing without their legs or hands, it would cause a big and positive impact on them," he added.

The home contingent will have 73 athletes and its flag-bearers, Dharambir and Preeti, brought pride to the nation with their exceptional performances at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Dharambir won the gold medal in the men's Club Throw F51 event, while Preeti Pal secured two bronze medals.

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