Winners emerge across athletics and badminton events on the first day at JRD Sports Complex
Jamshedpur, February 6: The two-day 25th State Para Athletics Championship 2026 and the 6th State Para Badminton Championship 2026 began with a ceremonial opening at the JRD Sports Complex on Friday morning. Chief Sports of Tata Steel, Mukul Vinayak Choudhary, inaugurated the championships by lighting the lamp.
Purvi Ghosh, President of the East Singhbhum District Paralympic Association, welcomed the chief guest and other dignitaries with shawls, bouquets and mementoes. Secretary Jagannath Behera presented the association report, while the programme was conducted by Shyam Sharma. Several social and sports leaders, including Dr. Renuka Choudhary, Agnes Byal and Vineet Shah, were present.
Addressing the gathering, Mukul Vinayak Chaudhari encouraged the differently-abled athletes and assured them of full support. He congratulated the East Singhbhum Paralympic Association for successfully hosting the first-ever state-level para championships in the district.
Players from various districts of Jharkhand participated enthusiastically. A total of 16 athletics events were held on the first day, along with completion of singles and doubles matches in badminton.
Among the notable winners, Tajendra Singh of East Singhbhum secured first place in the 50-metre race, while Arun Kumar Mahto of Dhanbad topped the 100-metre T46/44 category. Mahendra Prasad Verma of Giridih won the 100-metre V1 event, and Ashutosh Panigrahi of East Singhbhum claimed first positions in both the 100-metre autism category and 50-metre autism group race.
In the women’s 100-metre race, Lakshmi of Bokaro finished first, followed by Kiran Kumari of Ranchi. In field events, Seema Gorai won the club throw, while Vaibhav Bhagat topped the shot put autism group. Rakesh Ranjan emerged first in the shot put CP group and Abhishek Kumar won the shot put ID category.
Winners were awarded medals and certificates by special guests including Aarti Pandey, Alok Skandh and Maroof Mehta. Aarti Pandey was also specially honored by the association.
The smooth conduct of the championship was made possible by officials, technical staff and members of the East Singhbhum Paralympic Association and Jharkhand State Paralympic Committee. The championships will conclude on Saturday with remaining events and final matches.
