A landmark chapter in India’s para-sports journey came to a close as the First Para National Yogasana Championship 2025 concluded successfully at the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), New Delhi. Held between September 26 and 28, 2025, the championship was recognised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, and jointly organised by Yogasana Bharat and NavYog Suryodaya Seva Samiti, with the support of Divyang Seva Sansthan and NGO Darpan. Dr. Anil Agarwal, cardiologist specialist and Member of Rashtriya Sewa Swang, attended the tournament as its chief guest.
The event started with formal lamp lightning followed by an art exhibition of sign language work by Divyand Sewa Sangh and a beautiful cultural program featuring performances by disabled people. The sports tournaments were held in four categories; Orthopaedically Handicapped OH A (50%–75% disability), Orthopaedically Handicapped OH B (above 75% disability), Blind/Visually Impaired, and Deaf & Mute/Hearing Impaired. Total of 196 para-athletes including 70 deaf and mute players( 34 females and 36 males), 21 visually impaired women players, 28 visually impaired male players, and 39 male OHA and 22 female OH A players, 4 female OH B players and 12 male OH B players participated with great enthusiasm to showcase their talents.
The championship was attended by distinguished Ministers and changemakers such as Shri Pratap Rao, Hon’ble Minister of AYUSH (Independent Charge); Shri Udit Sheth, President, Yogasana Bharat; Dr. Jaideep Arya, Secretary General, Yogasana Bharat and World Yogasana, and Chairperson of the ceremony; Prof. Murli Manohar Pathak, Vice Chancellor, Sri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit University; Shri Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India; Shri Sudhanshu Mittal, President, Kho Kho Federation of India and Shri Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH.
With active participation from 19 states such as Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, and Telangana, the competition saw a fierce competition and at the end, the ones who showed exceptional endurance emerged as winners. Kalpana Kadam from Maharashtra grabbed the gold medal in traditional Yogasana VFA(female) event, followed by Akansha Wakade and gayatri Peddinty from the same state. In the under 20 OH-A event, Abhishek Yadav from Madhya Pradesh placed first while Agustin Shende from Maharashtra and Telangana’s Girinandhan were the first and second runner ups respectively. Pearl gupta from Delhi secured a gold medal in the traditional event for the group category of blind people under 20 (female), Maharashtra’s daughters Harshada Lokhande and Pallavi Dhamle were placed 2nd and 3rd respectively. OH-A event for under 20 females saw Ankita Mukherjee from West Bengal as the emerging champion while Sugapriya from Tamil Nadu and Pallavi Mokashi from Maharashtra placed 2nd and 3rd respectively.
In the event for deaf people above 17 (male category), Shubham Sharma from MP was 1st followed by Mahitab Singh from Chandigarh and Ravi Kishan from Maharashtra. For traditional yogasana for OH B U 20 female category, Abha Munde from Maharashtra came first and Himachal’s Parimita came second. Additionally, Rajasthan’s Shobha and Amandeep Kaur grabbed the first and second place respectively for OH-B above 20 event for females. In the deaf mute above 17 female category, Maharashtra’s Divya Jasu, Jayashri Gawari, and Pranjali Mane grabbed the top 3 positions. Akash Burde from Maharashtra, Ritesh Mishra from MP and Seelendra Kushwaha from UP were the winners in the Blind A 30 group while in the deaf under 17 male category, Maharashtra’s Vedant Shirguppe was first followed by Maharashtra’s Irfan Shaikh and Karnataka’s Rajeev Shankar Gaouda.
Addressing the occasion, Dr. Jaideep Arya, Secretary General, Yogasana Bharat and World Yogasana, said “History was created right here today. Few years ago, no one would have thought of the capabilties of the disabled community, especially in sports but times are surely changing and its delightful see the world recognizing that being disabled is not a liability and when given the right environment, anyone can thrive.”
The chief guest, Dr. Anil Agarwal, cardiologist specialist and Member of Rashtriya Sewa Swang also commented, “The event was delightful and inspiring. From the cultural program to the nail biting matches, everything changed my perspective on disability.”
With the curtains going down, the championship leaves behind an enduring legacy of determination, unity, and inspiration. It has opened the doors to future editions that will go on empowering para-athletes and strengthen the cause of Yogasana as a world sport.
