National Para Athletics Championship 2025: 37 para athletes from Odisha to vie for top honours

The 14th National Junior & Sub-Junior Para Athletics Championship 2025 is being held at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, with classification on 29th August followed by competitions from 30th to 31st August 2025. A strong contingent of 37 junior and sub-junior para athletes from Odisha, representing various categories, are proudly participating in this prestigious national event.

The athletes earned their place in the team through outstanding performances at the recently concluded Odisha State Junior & Sub-Junior Para Athletics Championship held at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, and further prepared through a coaching camp supported by the Sports & Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha.

The Odisha team departed for Gwalior on 28th August from Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar.

The team is led by Debamruta Sahoo (Team Coach), Ajay Vardhan Gutula (High Performance Coach), and Udit Harpal (Manager). The support staff includes Soumyashree Mishra (Physiotherapist) along with Lipsa Mishra and Pooja Behera as team assistants.

For the very first time, Odisha has sent its largest-ever contingent of junior and sub-junior para athletes to a national championship. On this occasion, Kamala Kanta Rath, President of the Para Sports Association of Odisha, extended his best wishes to the team and expressed confidence in their strong performance and medal prospects at the championship.