The Cuban, the 1992 Olympics gold medallist, was accompanied by Palestinian middle-distance runner Mohammed Dwedar, who recently participated in the Tokyo World Championships. They engaged with SAI athletes and coaches, including Indian para high jumper Sharad Kumar, Indian javelin star Sachin Yadav, and Russian javelin coach Sergey Makarov, who is currently training Indian javelin throwers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sotomayor, on his second visit to India, praised the JLN facility, saying, \u201cI feel very good to be in India again and I like India a lot. The JLN Stadium Mondo track is great. It is of very good quality for achieving good results.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 58-year-old also praised India\u2019s progress in track and field, particularly in javelin, adding, \u201cIndian athletes keep getting better each time. Today, at the world level, they already have very high quality in javelin throw. I hope that in the coming years they will also excel in the other disciplines of athletics.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Cuban also noted that such infrastructure is essential for delivering world-class performances. \u201cIn the next 10 years, we want to have stadiums as big as this in Cuba. We now have a sense of what is required,\u201d Sotomayor said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Palestinian athlete Mohammed Dwedar still hopes to compete at the JLN Stadium someday. \u201cIt is my dream to come and compete in a place like this. I\u2019m so happy to come to India and I wish to come train here, do a lot of competitions and make national records for my country,\u201d the 24-year-old said while stepping onto the track.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sharad Kumar, a two-time Paralympic medalist, described the meeting with Sotomayor as surreal. \u201cHe is an icon for every high jumper, and I have followed him ever since I started my high jump journey. It is a privilege to meet him here in India and have a knowledge exchange,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Palestinian athlete Mohammed Dwedar still hopes to compete at the JLN Stadium someday. \u201cIt is my dream to come and compete in a place like this. I\u2019m so happy to come to India and I wish to come train here, do a lot of competitions and make national records for my country,\u201d the 24-year-old said while stepping onto the track.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sotomayor and Dwedar participated as panellists in the Ekamra Sports Literature Festival 2025 in New Delhi the day before, engaging in various discussions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n