Six Nepali para athletes are participating in eight events at the New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Grand Prix being held from March 8 to 13 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

According to the Para Athletics Association of Nepal (PAAN), five male athletes—Nawaraj Karki, Govinda Giri, Himal Aryal, Phani Narayan Paudel and Raju Gurung—and a female athlete, Prabha Angdambe, are participating in the second Grand Prix of the year 2025.

Karki and Giri are participating in the 400m race; while Giri is also participating in the javelin throw. Similarly, Aryal and Paudel will be competing in shot put, and Gurung in discus throw.

Likewise, Angdembe is participating in three events—200m and 400m races, and long jump.

The World Para Athletics, the governing body of global para athletics, has announced the dates for nine Grand Prix events in 2025. The first, Dubai Grand Prix, took place from February 10 to 13.

The other Grand Prix will be organised in Marrakesh, Morocco (April 24-26); Jalisco, Mexico (May 9-12); Cali, Colombia (May 16-19); Nottwil, Switzerland (May 23-25); Paris, France (June 2-4); Tunis, Tunisia (June 16-18); and Olomouc, Czechia (July 3-5). The Grand Prix in Olomouc is only for women athletes.

Three Nepali athletes participated in the Dubai Grand Prix last month, according to Om Nath Shiwakoti, President at PAAN. “Nepal has been participating in Grand Prix events for quite a few years now,” he said.

Karki and Angdembe are two of the three para athletes to take part in both Dubai and New Delhi. Bilisha Aryal, who participated in the 100m race and shot put in Dubai, is not travelling to India.

“There are certain criteria we should meet to get a spot at the Grand Prix,” Shiwakoti told the Post. “It is a very important event for our athletes as it paves the way for the Para Athletics World Championships.”

The 12th edition of the World Championships is also being held in New Delhi from September 26 to October 5 this year.

Aim for World Championships

The Grand Prix in New Delhi will see athletes from 20 countries participating in over 90 competitions.

According to the organisers, the event will see elite para athletes from the host country India alongside Germany, Japan, Australia, Brazil and Russia. Other countries represented in the event include Nepal, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Norway, Cameroon, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Malaysia, among others.

“Targeting a medal against better and well-trained foreign athletes will not be easy,” Shiwakoti added. “However, we are looking forward to better personal records and fulfill the standards to qualify for the World Championships.”

Karki had finished fifth in the 400m race in the Dubai Grand Prix and sixth in 1,500m. He has also been competing in domestic events. He won the Urlabari Run 2081 in the Veteran Category competing against able-bodied athletes.

Likewise, Angdembe had finished sixth, fourth and eighth in the 200m race, 400m race and long jump, respectively, in Dubai.

“We had requested slots for 17 athletes to participate in around 30-35 events in the New Delhi Grand Prix,” Shiwakoti said. “However, we could not cover the cost for all of them and decided to take only a few with the highest chances for the World Championships.”

For a lack of enough resources and facilities, PAAN had been training the athletes in the premises of Dasharath Rangasala for around three months targeting the Grand Prixes. “Giri, Aryal, Paudel and Gurung, who represent Tribhuvan Army Club, trained with the departmental side as well,” Shiwakoti said.

A 10-member team, including the six para athletes and four officials, is heading to New Delhi for the tournament on Friday. The National Paralympic Committee-Nepal and the National Sports Council bade them farewell on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

According to the event schedule, the classification of participating athletes will take place on March 8, 9 and 10; while the competitions will be held on March 11, 12 and 13.

Para sports is gaining traction among Nepali fans of late, especially after Palesha Goverdhan bagged a bronze in taekwondo at the 2024 Paris Paralympics—the highest honour a Nepali athlete has ever achieved.

Goverdhan’s feat has highly motivated Nepali para athletes, Shiwakoti said. “Now they have seen what a win means for the country,” he said.