Simran Sharma skips felicitation ceremony as guide faces doping ban

Visually impaired sprinter Simran Sharma, who won a T12 100m gold and 200m silver, did not attend the national felicitation ceremony on Saturday after her guide runner Umar Saifi was provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for a positive test for drostanolone.

The closed-door event, held in New Delhi, saw Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya felicitate India’s medal-winning contingent from the World Para Athletics Championships 2025, praising their “extraordinary spirit, determination, and record-breaking performance.”

India registered its best-ever finish in the history of the World Para Athletics Championships, securing 10th place overall with a record 22 medals, including 6 Gold, 9 Silver, and 7 Bronze. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports distributed cash prizes worth over ₹1.09 crore among the medalists.

Dr. Mandaviya hailed the para athletes as symbols of strength and resilience, saying they had become “power athletes of Bharat.” He noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had closely followed the athletes’ performances throughout the championships.

The felicitation also marked India’s success as a host nation. The New Delhi 2025 edition — staged at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium- was the largest para-sport event ever organised in India, featuring over 2,100 participants from 100 countries competing across 186 medal events.

Athletes including Sumit Antil, Sailesh Kumar, and Preeti Pal highlighted the high-quality facilities, particularly the MONDO track that received widespread praise. They credited the superior infrastructure, logistics, and medical support for enabling top performances throughout the championship.

Simran Sharma’s absence, however, cast a shadow on an otherwise celebratory evening, following NADA’s disclosure of her guide’s doping violation — a development that may affect her medals pending further investigation.