The 25th edition of the 2025 Summer Deaflympics or XXV Summer Deaflympics, an international multi-sport event for Deaf athletes, held in Tokyo, Japan from 15th to 26th November 2025.
- Ukraine dominated the event by topping both the gold and overall medal tallies with 32 gold, 39 silver, and 29 bronze (100 total medals), United States of America (USA) with 36 medals (17 gold, 7 silver, and 12 bronze) and Japan with 51 medals (16 gold, 12 silver, and 23 bronze).
- India achieved its highest-ever Summer Deaflympics finish by placing 6th with a total of 20 medals, including 9 gold, 7 silver, and 4 bronze.
Exam Hints:
- What? 25th Summer Deaflympics 2025
- When? 15th to 26th November 2025
- Where? Tokyo, Japan
- Organiser: International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD)
Top country: Ukraine topped the medal tally with 100 medals (32 gold, 39 silver, and 29 bronze) - India’s Rank? 6th place with 20 medals (9 gold, 7 silver, 4 bronze) (Shooting – 16 medals)
- Indian World Records: Dhanush Srikanth, Mahit Sandhu, Abhinav Deshwal, Pranjali Prashant Dhumal and Mixed Team (10m Air Rifle and 10m Air Pistol)
- Next Edition? 2027 Winter Deaflympics (Innsbruck, Austria)
About 2025 Summer Deaflympics:
Anniversary: The 2025 edition celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Deaflympics, first held in 1924 in Paris, France.
Participation: The event saw around 6,000 participants from 70 to 80 countries, including approximately 3,000 athletes.
Indian Contingent: India sent its largest-ever delegation with 73 athletes and 38 support staff, totaling 111 members across 11 sporting disciplines.
Sports: The games featured 21 sports, including Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Bowling, Cycling Road, Mountain Bike, Football, Golf, Handball, Judo, Karate, Orienteering, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Volleyball, Wrestling Freestyle, and Wrestling Greco-Roman.
2025 Medal Design:
Design Theme: The medal, themed “Spreading Our Wings,” features an origami paper crane symbolizing aspiration and excellence, along with traditional Japanese auspicious patterns.
World and Deaflympics Records 2025:
Shooting World Records:
- Dhanush Srikanth (India): In the Men’s 10 meter (m )Air Rifle event, a new Deaf Final World Record (WR) of 252.2 points was set, along with a new qualification record of 630.6 points.
- Mahit Sandhu (India): In the Women’s 50m Rifle events, new World and Deaflympics records were set in the 3 Positions qualification and final, while the 50m Rifle Prone qualification achieved a WR of 619.7.
- Abhinav Deshwal (India): In the Men’s 25m Pistol Qualification, a score of 575 equaled the existing World and Deaflympics records.
- Pranjali Prashant Dhumal (India): In the Women’s 25m Pistol Qualification, a new World and Deaflympics record of 573 was set.
- Mixed Team Events (India): Mahit Sandhu and Dhanush Srikanth set a new World Qualification Record in 10m Air Rifle, while Abhinav Deshwal and Pranjali Dhumal equaled the existing World and Deaf records in 10m Air Pistol.
- Dmytro Petrenko (Ukraine): In the Men’s 50m Rifle Prone Final, a score of 251.0 set a new World and Olympic Deaf Record.
Swimming World Records:
- Carli Cronk (USA): Set two World Records in the Women’s 100m Butterfly and 400m Freestyle.
- Ilia Sultanov (Ukraine): Set a World Record in the Men’s 50m Butterfly with a time of 24.13 seconds.
- Viola Scotto di Carlo (Italy): Broke two World Records.
Athletics: In Women’s High Jump, Faina Meirmanova (Kazakhstan) set a new Deaflympics record of 1.79 metres.
Overall Top 5 Medal Tally (2025):
| Rank | Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ukraine | 32 | 39 | 29 | 100 |
| 2 | United States of America (USA) | 17 | 7 | 12 | 36 |
| 3 | Japan | 16 | 12 | 23 | 51 |
| – | Individual Neutral Athlete | 16 | 7 | 6 | 29 |
| 4 | China | 12 | 16 | 22 | 50 |
| 5 | South Korea | 11 | 13 | 18 | 42 |
| 6 | India | 9 | 7 | 4 | 20 |
Indian Records:
Shooting Contribution: Indian shooters secured 16 of the country’s 20 total medals.
Top Performers: Mahit Sandhu became India’s most successful athlete with 4 medals (2 gold, 2 silver), alongside record-breaking performances by Dhanush Srikanth, Abhinav Deshwal, and Pranjali Dhumal.
Golf Success: Diksha Dagar, India’s only Olympian in the contingent, won gold in Women’s Individual Golf, her second Deaflympics gold.
Historic Firsts: India secured its first-ever medals in Wrestling and Karate.
Indian Gold Medal Winners:
| Athlete | Event | Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Sumit Dahiya | 97 Kg Men’s Freestyle | Wrestling |
| Diksha Dagar | Women’s Individual | Golf |
| Dhanush Srikanth | 10m Air Rifle Men | Shooting |
| Abhinav Deshwal | 25m Sports Pistol Men | Shooting |
| Anuya Prasad | 10m Air Pistol Women | Shooting |
| Pranjali Dhumal | 25m Sports Pistol Women | Shooting |
| Mahit Sandhu | 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women | Shooting |
| Abhinav Deshwal / Pranjali Dhumal | 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team | Shooting |
| Dhanush Srikanth / Mahit Sandhu | 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team | Shooting |
To read full list of Indian Medalist in 2025 Summer Deaflympics
SAKURA Campaign: The SAKURA Campaign Social Media Project gathers support messages and personal thoughts from people around the world for athletes taking part in the Deaflympics.
About Deaflympics:
Overview: The Deaflympics, previously called the World Games for the Deaf and International Games for the Deaf, are a periodic multi-sport event for elite deaf athletes sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Organizer: The games have been organized since 1924 by the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) also known as Comité International des Sports des Sourds (CISS).
Inauguration: The first Deaflympics event was held in 1924.
Previous edition: The 2022 Summer Deaflympics took place in Caxias do Sul, Brazil from 15-24 January 2025.
Upcoming Edition: The 2027 Winter Deaflympics will be held in Innsbruck, Austria.
About International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD):
President – Ádám Kósa
Headquarters – Lausanne, Switzerland
Established – 1924
