Deepthi Jeevanji sets a world record in women’s 400 m T20 event

Deepthi Jeevanji of Telangana has set a new world record in the 400-meter T 20 event at the World Para Athletics Championship 2024. She clocked a world record timing of 55.07 seconds.

India has won five medals so far in the championships: 2 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze.

First Gold medal for India at World Para Athletics Championship

Tha Hangzhou Asian Games Paralympics champion Deepthi Jeevanji won the first gold for India at the World Para Athletics Championship. She broke the world record of American Breanna Clark’s record of 55.12 seconds in 400 meters T 20 events. Deepthi Jeevanji broke the record with a time of 55.07 seconds.

With this win, Deepthi Jeevanji also qualified for the 2024 Paris Summer Paralympics. 

T 20 events are for the ‘mentally impaired ‘athletes.

Ekta Bhyan wins second gold for India 

38-year-old Ekta Bhyan won India's second gold medal at the World Para Athletics Championship in the women’s F51 club throw competition. She threw 20.12 meters to win the gold.

Ekta, a Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officer, had won a bronze medal in the  2018 Asian Para Games in China.

The first medal for India in the 11th  World Para Athletics Championships 2024 was won by Nishad Kumar. He won a silver medal in the men’s high jump T47 event. He cleared the height of 1.99m.

In the women’s 200m T35 event. 

Preethi Pal won a bronze medal in the  200m T35 event, clocking 30.49, It is India’s first-ever para track medal in the tournament.

India won a record 10 medals—three gold, four silver, and three bronze—at the 10th World Para Athletics Championships 2023, held in Paris, France.

World Para Athletics Championship

The 11th World Para Athletics Championship is being held in the Japanese city of Kobe from 17 -25 May 2024. Around 1000 male and female athletes from more than one hundred countries are competing in 168 medal events (92 male, 75 female and one mixed).

The World Championships is being held at the Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium. 

For the first time, the World Para Athletics Championships in being held in East Asia. 

This is the third edition of the World Para Athletics Championships to be held in Asia, following Doha, Qatar, in 2015  and Dubai , the United Arab Emirates, in 2019.