PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday hailed Shailesh Kumar for winning a gold medal at the World Para Athletics Championship 2025 held in New Delhi.
The CM announced a reward of Rs 75 lakh for Shailesh in addition to a citation, saying the youth’s record-making performance at the championship was a testament to the transformation in the field of sports in Bihar. Twenty-five-year-old Shailesh from Bihar’s Jamui district won a gold medal at the World Para Athletics Championship 2025 on Saturday. In the men’s T42/64 high jump finals, Shailesh cleared a personal best of 1.91m to shatter both the championship and Asian records.
Nitish wrote on X, “It’s a moment of pride not only for Bihar but also for India. The historic win of Shailesh will inspire other young athletes.” Director General-cum Chief Executive Officer of Bihar State Sports Authority (BSSA), Raveendran Sankaran, also congratulated Shailesh for his historic performance at the championship. Shailesh’s father, Shivnandan Yadav, is on cloud nine ever since he came to know about his son’s record-making performance at the championship.
Till recently, Shailesh’s father was not aware about his son’s profession. “He has been working as a CDPO in Bihar government, which is what I know about my son’s job. Some neighbours recently told me that Shailesh is a para-athlete, which I have never heard,” Shivnandan said.
The family distributed sweets among neighbours to celebrate the occasion. The villagers will felicitate him once he returns from New Delhi. “After all, it is his maiden world gold,” said a local resident.
Hailing from Islam Nagar village in Jamui district, Shailesh had lost his right leg to polio at the age of five. But he did not let his disability restrict his ambitions. He started practice and worked hard to achieve his goals.
His father said that Shailesh finished his schooling and graduated from Jamui. He used to compete with able-bodied athletes when he was in school. “He used to play with his schoolmates and neighbours at the native village,” recalled Shailesh’s father.
“This is not the first occasion that Shailesh has won medals, including the Para Asian Games. He was the first Bihari athlete to win a gold medal in the Asian Games,” said Raveendra Sankaran, DG-cum-CEO of BSSA.