Special Olympics World Games: Indian contingent starts strong on first day
The Hindu
The biggest performances came from swimming, where 11 out of 12 Indian athletes qualified for the Semi-Finals in their respective categories of 25m freestyle, 25m breaststroke, and 50m breaststroke
After the opening ceremony, the first day of the Special Olympics World Games kicked off with a lot of fanfare, with various divisioning events spread out throughout the city of Berlin. The Indian contingent participated in divisioning events across 14 out of 16 sports.
The biggest performances of the day came from swimming, where 11 out of 12 Indian athletes qualified for the semi-finals in their respective categories of 25m freestyle, 25m breaststroke, and 50m breaststroke. Also, four Indians qualified for the semi-finals in Athletics.
The Indian Men's football team and Women's football team also competed in the group stages of 7-a-side matches. While the Men's team earned a draw against Saint Lucia, the Women's team managed to eke out a win over Israel.
Also read | 255-member strong contingent to represent India at Special Olympics World Summer Games
Earlier in the day, Special Olympics announced the formation of the Global Leadership Coalition for Inclusion, a pioneering multilateral effort to support people with intellectual disabilities. For the first time, governments, industries, philanthropists and the development community came together with a shared global commitment to increase inclusive practices in education and sport and create more inclusive schools and communities.
Over the next three years, coalition members have committed to expanding inclusive sports and education opportunities to over 20,00,000 young people in more than 1,50,000 schools and scaling Special Olympics programming to 180 nations. The discussions between Special Olympics Bharat and the Ministry of Education in India are already underway to introduce the Inclusive format of Sports in schools and colleges.
The second day of action will see several more divisioning events take place through the course of the day, with medal rounds expected to begin on June 20.
Ishan Kishan steps in as Sunrisers captain for IPL 2026, marking a historic moment with all teams led by Indian captains.
Kimi Antonelli celebrates his Chinese GP victory as a launchpad for future Formula One success and aims for the championship.
Ramit Tandon discusses his preparation for the Asian Games, Indian squash's growth, and ambitions for Olympic qualification.
Irfan Pathan expresses confidence in Shreyas Iyer's ability to replicate last season's success as Punjab Kings prepare for IPL.
Meenakshi upsets Antim Panghal at Asian Championships trials; Aman Sehrawat qualifies in 61kg category amidst strong competition.
Mahela Jayawardene anticipates a fitter, committed Rohit Sharma as IPL 2026 approaches, while expressing confidence in Suryakumar Yadav.
RBI women's team secures third title in four years, while PSPB men dominate with their 24th consecutive championship win.
Join the IPL 2026 countdown as Shreyas Iyer leads Punjab Kings in their quest for a maiden title.
New Zealand defeats South Africa by 68 runs in the second T20I, leveling the series at 1-1.
Novak Djokovic withdraws from the Miami Open due to a shoulder injury, missing his chance for a seventh title.
Sing language interpreters from India Signing Hands made sure that hearing impaired audience of the matches involving India in the recently concluded T20 World Cup “heard” them
Iran is negotiating with FIFA to move its World Cup matches to Mexico due to safety concerns amid ongoing conflict.
CSK names James Foster as fielding coach