GB’s Cockroft questions venue after 17th world title

At the World Paralympics in New Delhi, Great Britain won the gold and silver medal at the age of 34, but Hannah Cockroft later questioned the venue’s choice due to the low crowd size. She later claimed a 17th world title.

The GB team-mate Kare Adenegan also won silver, while the nine-time Paralympic champion won a championship record of 55.62 seconds to claim her 29th major title.

The 33-year-old said she was disappointed to see the 60, 000 capacity Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which was the venue of the World Para Athletics (WPA) showpiece event.

She told BBC Radio 5 Live, “If I’m honest, WPA needs to be looking more closely at where these championships are being sent.”

You “strangely hope that people are watching, and you always hope that people are inspired to try it out.”

The championships, which started on Saturday and continue until Sunday, October 5, are free, entry.

The largest international para-sport event to take place in India, according to Paul Fitzgerald, head of WPA, and a “massive opportunity to grow our sport, our fanbase, and impact society’s perception of persons with disabilities in the world’s most populous nation.”

Cockroft, who will compete in three more events at her eighth World Championships, said she hoped word of mouth will increase competition.

She continued, “I just hope that the message that this event is happening is being sent to the people of India.”

I want it to alter attitudes and how people view disabilities.

We attended the Commonwealth Games in the stadium, and we are aware that there will be more people there as the week progresses, so we can expect to see more people coming and flooding the stands and having a little more support for later events.

Due to the limited number of athletes on the field, Fabienne Andre from Great Britain placed third overall behind team-mates Cockroft and Adenegan.

Cockroft continued to win the title she last won in London in 2017 because the competition had not taken place at the previous three World Championships.