Sachin Chamaria Wins Silver, Bronze in Cairo; Sets Up Historic Boccia First in Seoul

Sachin Chamaria has left Cairo with two medals. He now heads to Seoul carrying a piece of Indian boccia history.

The Indian para athlete won silver in the BC3 Pairs event with Sarita Dwivedi and bronze in the BC3 Individual competition at the Cairo 2026 World Boccia Challenger.

The results deliver valuable world-ranking points before the biggest assignment of Chamaria’s career: the World Boccia Championships in Seoul from August 24 to September 4.

When Chamaria takes his place there, he will become the first Indian BC3 athlete to reach the World Championships on merit. Cairo was the final push. Seoul is the breakthrough.

The 35-year-old currently sits at World No. 20 in the BC3 category and has won the national championship six times. His rise has come quickly. Chamaria made his competitive boccia debut only in 2021 and has since represented India across Egypt, Canada, Australia, Bahrain, Italy, Poland, the UAE and Thailand, besides competing at the Asian Para Games.

Cairo already occupied an important place in that journey. In 2024, Chamaria became the first Indian male BC3 player to win a silver medal at an international World Boccia Challenger in the Egyptian capital. Later that year, he broke another barrier in Bahrain, becoming the first Indian male BC3 athlete to win individual gold at that level.

Two years later, he returned to Cairo and climbed the podium twice. The Challenger forms part of the official World Boccia ranking circuit, with performances contributing to an athlete’s position and qualification prospects. The World Boccia rankings portal includes Cairo among the recognised events contributing points to athletes’ totals.

For Chamaria, those points sit inside a larger personal journey. A spinal cord injury at 17 changed the course of his life. Years of rehabilitation followed. He completed his Bachelor of Commerce from Shri Ram College of Commerce, moved into entrepreneurship and eventually found his way back to competitive sport through boccia.

The sport rewards thought as much as touch. Players attempt to place their coloured balls as close as possible to a white target ball known as the jack. Each shot can block an opponent, open an angle or overturn an entire end.

Chamaria competes in BC3, a classification for athletes with significant physical impairments affecting movement and coordination. Players use an assistive ramp and work with a sport assistant, who positions the ramp but cannot dictate the decision. The athlete controls the direction, weight and strategy of every shot.

Chamaria must see the opening. Calculate the angle. Call the play. That combination of precision and tactics has carried him from his first competition to the world stage in five years. “Every time I wear the India jersey, I carry the hopes of everyone who has believed in me through this journey,” he said, thanking the Boccia Sports Federation of India for backing him.

Chamaria hopes his medals will also pull more Indian athletes towards a sport that still receives limited visibility in the country. “I hope these performances encourage more athletes with disabilities to take up the sport and help create greater awareness and opportunities for boccia in India,” he said.

The Cairo medals have added silver and bronze to his growing collection. Seoul offers something no Indian BC3 athlete has experienced before: a place among the world’s best earned through the rankings. Chamaria has spent years placing the ball closer to the jack. Now he has pushed Indian boccia closer to the world.

(With inputs from ANI)