Haryana retain Khelo India Para Games team championship, Tamil Nadu runners-up, Uttar Pradesh third

Featuring close to 1,300 athletes, competing across six sporting disciplines at three venues in New Delhi - Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, IG Indoor Stadium and Karni Singh Shooting Range - Khelo India Para Games 2025 witnessed truly memorable moments, highlighting endurance, unyielding spirit, and the power of human will to overcome any challenges.

Eighteen national records were created in KIPG 2025 with Jaspreet Kaur (Punjab), Manish Kumar (Haryana), Seema Rani (Punjab), and Jhandu Kumar (Bihar) winning gold medals in Para Powerlifting, as per a press release from SAI Media.

Additionally, 14 track and field athletes Dilip Mahadu Gavit (Maharashtra), Sharath Makanahalli Shankarappa (Karnataka), Manish Kumar (Haryana), Manjeet (Haryana), Bhavani Munniyandi (Andaman & Nicobar Islands), Lalitha Killaka (Andhra Pradesh), Khushboo Gill (Tamil Nadu), Enbatamizhi S (Tamil Nadu), Keerthika Jayachandran (Tamil Nadu), Lakshmi (Haryana), Usha (Haryana), Dolly Gola (Delhi), Jaspreet Kaur Sran (Punjab), and Fatima Khatoon (Uttar Pradesh) also broke national records.

With 12 female competitors breaking national records, KIPG 2025 highlighted the growth of women athletes in India in para sports. A total of 596 medals (189 gold, 189 silver, 218 bronze) were distributed by the end of the tournament with 346 medals (110 gold, 109 silver, 127 bronze) won by male athletes and female athletes taking home a total of 250 medals (79 gold, 80 silver, 91 bronze).

Like the first KIPG held in December 2023, Haryana once again dominated with a total of 104 medals (34 gold, 39 Silver, and 31 Bronze). In the inaugural edition, Haryana won 105 medals (40 gold, 39 Silver and 26 Bronze).

Speaking on the win, Team Haryana chef-de-mission Giriraj Singh said, "I would first like to thank the countrymen for showing so much interest in the Khelo India Para Games. The Government of India and SAI have an immense role to play in the medals our athletes are bringing today. Through this initiative of Khelo India Para Games, our athletes will get a chance to play in international tournaments like Paralympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games."

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu which had finished third in the first KIPG, climbed to the second position with 74 medals (28 gold, 19 Silver and 27 Bronze), while Uttar Pradesh, which had finished second the last time, finished in the third position with 64 medals (23 gold, 21 Silver, and 20 Bronze).

Team Tamil Nadu chief-de-mission Raja said, "Our Tamil Nadu team gave an excellent performance. Team SAI organized a great tournament, and all the arrangements were fantastic, including the travel and food. It was a fantastic event."

Team Uttar Pradesh chef-de-mission Mudrika Pathak said, "The tournament was very well organized and provides a great opportunity for grassroots-level players. I would like to thank everybody who was involved in organizing it on behalf of the Uttar Pradesh team. We are very happy with our performance in the tournament."

On the final day of the Games on Thursday, Gujarat dominated the table tennis competition at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, where the closing ceremony was held. Gujarat won 21 medals, including four golds, five silvers and 12 bronze. Haryana won a total of eight, with three golds.

The 50-year-old Yezdi Aspi Bhamgara from the state finished with the gold medal, defeating Gujarat's Vikas Thakur 3-1 in the Men's Class 6 category. Yezdi, who has been playing the sport for 40 years, and had cerebral palsy since birth said, "I have been a para table tennis since 2005. But, I used to play able-bodied table tennis as well. Winning the gold medal here feels good because I have worked hard for to reach this stage. I practice for three to four hours every day, because of which I am here.

"The Khelo India Para Games is very important because all the medal winners now know what it takes to make it to the podium. And this helps to prepare them for the international stage. To win these medals we sacrifice a lot, and stay away from our families."

The 29-year-old Bhavika Kukadiya from Surat, Gujarat, who suffers from cerebral palsy, also defeated Gujarat's Jamani Nirjahan Noorali 3-1 in Women's Class 6 to win gold.

"I have been playing table tennis for the last five years. But I never thought that I would be involved in any kind of sports because no one in my family plays sports. Then, one day, while scrolling through social media, I came across the idea of para sports so I thought -- why not? By god's grace, I have been able to represent the country at an international level as well now," Bhavika said.

"I could not even still properly till I was five years old. By age 12, I taught myself to walk using the help of the walls, because my parents wanted me to not take any help from a wheelchair or tricycle. And it is because of them that I have been able to reach this stage in my life," she signed off.

RESULTS (all finals):

Men's Class 6:

Gold - Yezdi Aspi Bhamgara (Gujarat); Silver - Vikas Thakur (Gujarat)

Men's Class 7:

Gold - Sanjeev Hammannavar (Karnataka); Silver - Shivam Pal (Uttar Pradesh)

Women's Class 6:

Gold - Bhavika Kukadiya (Gujarat); Silver - Jamani Noorali (Gujarat)

Women's Class 7:

Gold - Prachi Pandey (Uttar Pradesh); Silver - Kanchan Ban (Rajasthan)

Men's Class 8:

Gold - Shashidhar Kulkarni (Karnataka); Silver - Parmar Gajanan (Madhya Pradesh)

Women's Class 8:

Gold - Nisha Innani (Telangana); Silver - Savita Ajjanakatti (Karnataka)

Men's Class 9:

Gold - Dattaprasad Jotiram Chougule (Maharashtra); Silver - Ravinder Yadav (Haryana)

Women's Class 9:

Gold - Mehak Kaur (Haryana); Silver - Baby Sahana (Tamil Nadu)

Men's Class 10:

Gold - Vishwa Vijay Tambe (Maharashtra); Silver - Jagannath Mukherjee (Haryana)

Women's Class 10:

Gold - Devyani Walhe (Madhya Pradesh); Silver - Natania Jain (Delhi). (ANI)