Winning the first gold medal was considered noteworthy. When he earned his second gold the following day it was deemed extraordinary. Two days later when Fareez Vasania clinched his third gold at the World Masters Games (WMG), he became a celebrity on social media and in the community. Images of a gold medal hanging around his neck, his index finger raised to confirm his first position, were repeatedly shared on social media.
In some photos he was holding aloft the flag of India which was one of the 108 countries represented at the Games in Taiwan from May 17 to 30, 2025. In others he was seen with the eye-catching blue and pink replica of Strong, the event mascot. The design for the mascot had been inspired by the shape of the character 北 (‘north’), symbolizing the two northern metropolitan areas, Taipei and New Taipei City that hosted the mega event, as explained on the website culture.gov.taipei.
The motto for the Games being "Sports beyond age! Life without limits!” over 25,000 competitors above the age of 30 years vied for the medals in 35 events (including nine para categories). Among those who had participated in the 2025 Summer WMG, organized by the International Masters Games Association, was Guinness World Record holder, 104-year-old badminton player Lin You-mao. Held since 1985, WMG have been popular with retired professional athletes and former Olympic competitors.
For Vasania, the most comfortable victory was in triple jump which he considers his "favorite event” having covered a distance of 10.43 m to emerge the winner among 15 competitors in the 60+ age group on May 21. "I have won this event twice before in the WMG,” earning a silver in Sydney in 2009 in the 45+ age group, and a bronze in New Zealand in 2017 in the (50+ category). The athlete responded to queries from Parsiana while yet in Taipei. In 2025, Vasania also overcame competition from 18 others to win a gold in long jump, covering a distance of 4.84 m on May 19. A day prior he won the gold in high jump, the only one among 10 competitors to cross the bar at 1.47 m.
Above: Fareez Vasania (2nd from l) was conferred a gold medal after winning the triple jump event;
inset: World Masters Games mascot, Strong; above right: score board showing Vasania as winner
A resident of Dadar Parsi Colony, Vasania finds "high jump the most difficult event as there is no facility for mattresses to practice on. I literally do the high jump event on instinct. I put in four to five hours of training a week. Long jump and triple jump are pretty similar but triple jump is harder as you have to take off and land again on the same leg.” While long jump is a single jump event, triple jump involves three phases: a hop, a step and a jump where the athlete takes off and lands on the same foot for the hop, then lands on the opposite foot for the step, and finally jumps into the sand with both feet.
"I stay fit all year round yet fear injuries,” admitted the bachelor who was "60 years young (at the time of the competition and celebrated his 61st birthday a few days later). I would like to compete as long as I can, as long as my body allows me to.” He was particularly appreciative of his "coach Kelly Pardiwalla who has done a fantastic job and who is so good in his work; also my physiotherapists Drs Hemali Mehta and Aasim Khan; and my masseur Ramchandra Yadav.” He further gave credit to "Rohinton Mehta who first introduced me to WMG.” At the 2009 Games in Sydney, when Vasania won the silver in triple jump, Mehta had bagged the gold in the 400 m hurdles in his age category.
The financial burden of participating in WMG has to be borne by an athlete, said Vasania. This would include registration and accommodation fees for the Games, the cost of air tickets, training, sports attire and special diet. The Bombay Parsi Punchayet aided him in 2017 and 2025 with a sum of Rs 50,000 each time, he noted. An industrial photographer, for the 2013 ZYNG (Zoroastrian Youth for the Next Generation) calendar designed by Spenta Multimedia, Vasania was among those who helped with the photo shoot at the Poonawalla Stud Farm in Poona.
"I used to be a fitness trainer but am now retired since a couple of years,” stated the athlete. Having played football for Air India, Vasania also used to train children aged five to 15 years in this game at the Dadar Parsee Colony Gymkhana (DPCG). His team called Zoroastrian FC would play in the Mumbai Division Football Association League. At the Zoroastrian Premier League football match in 2019 he was appointed manager for the Sterling FC team. With his passion for bikes, decades earlier he had won prizes in a motorcycle 350 cc stock class event and the Mumbai Drag Race on a Kawasaki 1200 cc bike. Since last year he has been on the DPCG billiards team although he has been playing snooker for the past several decades.
Valuing the encouragement from his late parents Aspi Vasania who was a boxer and Zarine Chhapkhanawala, known to be the first woman motorcycle racer in India, Fareez noted, "Since my childhood they were always very supportive of my athletic abilities.” His early education was at Sherwood College in Nainital and Billimoria High School in Panchgani after which he earned a diploma in photography. To him, more important than religious ceremonies and customs is his practice of meditation and expansion of consciousness.
Following his win at the 2009 WMG, Vasania had said, "I love the freedom of running and jumping! It’s a great feeling — exhilaration in exhaustion!” (see "Mastering the game,” Parsiana, November 21, 2009). As he did not encounter any other Parsi athletes at the 2025 WMG, Fareez commented, "I think we need more Parsis at the state, national and international levels.”