India’s top para-athletes, including Paris 2024 gold medallists Sumit Antil, Praveen Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu, will be seen in action at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2026 New Delhi.
The three-day event, to be held from March 11 to 13, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will feature 74 athletics competitions, 39 for athletes with physical impairments, 29 for those with vision impairments and six for athletes with intellectual impairments.
It will include participation by 257 athletes from eight nations: India, Russia, Nepal, Bhutan, Hong Kong China, Serbia, Bosnia and Egypt. Hosts India will field the largest contingent with around 219 athletes competing across multiple track and field events and sport classifications.
Leading India’s charge will be Paris 2024 Paralympic champions Mariyappan Thangavelu (men’s high jump T63), Sumit Antil (men’s javelin throw F64) and Praveen Kumar (men’s high jump T64).
The Indian line-up will also feature prominent athletes such as Ajeet Singh, Devendra Singh Gurjar, multiple Asian Para Games medallist Ankur Dhama and T12 sprinter Simran, who won gold at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships.
Preeti Pal, a double bronze medallist at the Paris 2024 Paralympics in the women’s 100m and 200m T35 events, will also be in action.
The previous edition of the World Para Athletics Grand Prix New Delhi in 2025 saw India deliver a dominant performance, finishing atop the medal tally with 134 medals, including 45 gold, 40 silver and 49 bronze.
Now in its 12th season, the World Para Athletics Grand Prix series sees the world’s top para-athletes compete across multiple meets during the year, similar in structure to the Diamond League.
The 2026 season began with the Dubai leg in February and will conclude with the Cali leg in Colombia this September. The New Delhi leg marks the second stop on the 2026 calendar.
India also delivered a commanding performance at the opening leg in Dubai, finishing on top of the medals table with 43 medals, including 16 gold. Colombia and Kenya followed with 20 medals each, winning 11 and six gold medals, respectively.
