World Para Athletics Championships:
Papi gets Iran off the mark with javelin bronze
Iran’s Amanollah Papi claimed a first medal for the country at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships, winning a bronze in the men’s javelin throw contest on the second day of the competition in New Delhi, India.
Representing the country in the F57 class, Papi saved his best for the last attempt, registering a season-best 51.55m effort to win a consolation bronze.
Turkey’s Muhammet Khalvandi and Yorkinbek Odilov of Uzbekistan grabbed the gold and silver medals, finishing on with 53.3m and 52.06m, respectively.
A silver medalist at the Tokyo Paralympics and the 2017 world champion, Papi had finished on 47.63m to stand fourth at the Paris Paralympics last year.
Zafar Zaker was the other Iranian in action on Sunday but missed out on the podium in the men’s shot put F55 event, finishing sixth with a best effort of 11.65m.
Two-time Paralympic champion Ruzhdi Ruzhdi walked away with the ultimate prize thanks to a world-record 12.94m effort, with Serbian Nebojsa Duric (12.52m) – silver medalist at the Paris Games – and Lech Stoltman (12.02m) of Poland in the following spots.
Alireza Mokhtari – a bronze medalist in Paris – was disqualified in the men’s shot put F53 contest on Tuesday.
Having managed two clear throws in six attempts, the Iranian thought he had won the silver with 8.65m, but was left empty-handed after successful protests against his efforts.
Iran’s Elham Salehi, Mahdi Olad, Amirhossein Alipour, Parastoo Habibi, and Hajar Safarzadeh will compete across different disciplines today.
More than 1,000 athletes from 104 countries will compete in the 12th edition of the World Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium until Sunday.