Nearly 300 Para-Athletes from 8 Oil PSUs to Compete in ONGC’s 7th Para Games from Feb 26 at Thyagaraj Stadium, New Delhi

Rakesh Thapliyal

New Delhi: Nearly 300 para-athletes from eight Oil & Gas Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), including ONGC, will compete in the 7th ONGC Para Games scheduled to be held from February 26-28, 2026 at Thyagaraj Stadium, New Delhi.

The multi-discipline sporting event will witness participation from employee-athletes representing BPCL, EIL, GAIL, HPCL, IOCL, MRPL, OIL and ONGC, reflecting sector-wide engagement towards inclusive employee initiatives across the oil and gas industry. The participants include both men and women para-athletes representing various organisations across the oil and gas sector.

Since its inception in 2017, the ONGC Para Games has evolved into a flagship platform providing employees with disabilities an opportunity to engage in competitive sporting activities in a structured environment aligned with national and international standards.

The Games will feature competitions across multiple sporting disciplines including Athletics, Table Tennis, Badminton, Swimming and Wheelchair Race. Athletics will see participation of 251 athletes, followed by Badminton with 160 participants and Table Tennis with 125 participants. Additionally, 21 participants will compete in Wheelchair Race events.

Participants representing various disability classifications such as Hearing & Speech Impairment, Upper Limb and Lower Limb disabilities, Visual Impairment (Low Vision and No Vision), and Wheelchair users will take part in the Games.

ONGC will be represented by 170 employee-athletes in the current edition.

Notably, accomplished national and international para-athletes including Jummanna Wadageri (Para Throwball), Arunkumar S Makkalageri (Para Throwball), Sannamaresha (Para Cricket & Athletics), Mantu Kumar (Badminton), Riddhi Thacker (Badminton), Aman Tipu Chauhan (Athletics), Dilbagh (Swimming), Rahul Gupta (Volleyball), Pradeep Chahal (Cricket, Athletics & Badminton), Nirmalkumar Patel (Para Cricket & Badminton), Madan Kumar (Para Badminton), Joby Mathew (Para Sports) and Manasi Joshi (Badminton) will also be present during the Games.

The previous edition of the ONGC Para Games witnessed participation from 312 para-athletes from eight PSUs across similar sporting disciplines including Athletics, Table Tennis and Badminton.

The Opening Ceremony of the Games will be held on February 26, 2026 at Thyagaraj Stadium, New Delhi.