NEW DELHI: India is celebrating the success of its differently-abled athletes, who achieved a record medal haul at the World Para Athletics Championships, which concluded here on Sunday.The event was probably the largest multi-nation competition hosted by India since the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010. Over 2,200 athletes from 104 countries participated, providing the hosts an opportunity to demonstrate their readiness, infrastructure development, organisational capabilities, logistical preparedness and sporting legacy.This event was among several India plans to host as part of its ambitions to host the CWG in 2030 and the Olympics and Paralympics in 2036. The country has been actively lobbying to secure the hosting rights for both multi-disciplinary events. India is engaged in a two-way contest for the CWG with Nigeria, but securing the event is expected to be achievable. The focus of the Indian govt is on the 2036 Olympics, with the Centre and Gujarat’s state machinery making significant efforts to win the rights.Successful hosting of the World para athletics was crucial for the country’s sports administrators. While the nation’s para athletes excelled on the field, securing medal glory and finishing an impressive 10th overall in the tally, organisational capabilities revealed some shortcomings. There were glitches and last-minute efforts to prepare the infrastructure and logistics, with the Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) stadium’s warm-up track and gymnasium inaugurated on the eve of the championships. A day before the opening ceremony, pieces of broken glass were seen strewn on the newly-laid Mondo track, which hosted the competition rounds. The nine-lane, blue prefabricated synthetic surface at the main ground and the warm-up track inside the JLN premises cost the govt close to Rs 25 crore.Cars with VVIP and VIP stickers, as well as those carrying dignitaries, were seen entering the ‘No Vehicle Zone’ regularly during the championship days, a strictly prohibited area when hosting a para competition, given the safety and well-being of differently-abled athletes.Furthermore, in a big embarrassment, stray dogs bit two foreign coaches inside the stadium when they were training their athletes at the warm-up track. Around the same time, a security guard at one of the stadium’s entrance gates was also attacked. Some ministry and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) officials admitted in private that the dog bite incident had dented the country’s global sporting image, bringing negative publicity. “That too, at a time, when the Commonwealth Sport – CWG’s global governing body – is about to announce its decision on the 2030 host, with India leading the race and the country’s top sports administrators engaged in a ‘Continuous Dialogue’ phase with the IOC which is having a feasibility assessment of the interested party’s preparedness,” said an official.All these incidents can serve as a learning experience for India and its sports administrators, who can take cues to ensure such incidents do not recur during future championships. While several former and current sportspersons have hailed the conduct of the championships, the country’s ambitions to host the CWG or Olympics can only materialise if it works on the gains from the World para athletics and also on its shortcomings.
