Windhoek: Namibia’s Paralympic athlete Ananias Shikongo and his guide, Even Tjiuiju, won Namibia’s only medal on Friday at the 2025 India World Para Athletics Championships after finishing second in the T11 100 metres (m) final.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the 12th Edition of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Para Athletics Championships are underway at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi from 27 September to 05 October. It features over 1,000 athletes in 186 medal events (101 men’s, 84 women’s, and one mixed relay), 15 more than the 2024 edition held in Kobe, Japan.

Shikongo and Tjiuiju clocked a new African record and personal best of 11.00 seconds to claim the silver medal. They finished narrowly behind Greece’s world record holder, Athanasios Ghavelas, and his guide, Dimitrios Chrysafris, who won gold in 10.96 seconds.

The medal remains Namibia’s sole success at the championships, where most athletes have struggled to meet expectations. At the previous edition held i
n Kobe, Japan, Team Namibia secured a gold medal and a bronze through Chris Kinda (with guide Rivaldo Goagoseb) in the T11 400m and Lahja Ishitile (with guide Sem Shimanda) in the T11 100m, finishing 39th overall in the medal standings.

This year, with only one silver medal so far, Namibia is tied in 52nd position with Angola, Finland, and Trinidad and Tobago, who also each collected a single silver.

In an interview shared with the media after the race, Shikongo expressed his happiness at winning a silver medal after having a tough race in the 400m. ‘It was not easy, but as for young athletes, they must keep on pushing so that they can one day be successful like me. I am calling on the government to start investing in athletes’ development so that we can have more athletes in the future,’ he said.