All you need to know about who is Mariyappan Thangavelu, India's first Paralympic gold medalist in high jump
Mariyappan Thangavelu is an Indian Paralympic high jumper who became the first Paralympic gold medalist in high jump since 2004.
New Delhi: Mariyappan Thangavelu is an Indian Paralympic high jumper who became the first Paralympic gold medalist in high jump since 2004. He was born on 28 June 1995 in Salem district of Tamil Nadu. He won a silver medal in the men's high jump T-42 event at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020, writing history.
He graduated from AVS College of Arts and Science with a degree in business administration, at the age of five, Thangavelu was run over by a bus and left his right leg permanently disabled. Instead of giving up, he decided to turn his disability into his special ability and is now a champion.
When he was a student, he was encouraged to take up sports by his physical education teacher and later got into athletics. His life changed when his current coach Satyanarayana noticed his outstanding performance in the Indian National Para-Athletics Championship and brought him to Bangalore for further training.
In 2106, Thangavelu qualified for the gold medal at the Grand Prix in Tunis, Tunisia after clearing a height of 1.78 m. He won the gold medal in the men's high jump T-42 category at the Rio Paralympics with a jump of 1.89m. Thangavelu did not stop there and won a bronze medal in the men's high jump T-63 event at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2017 for his contribution to the field of sports and was also honored with the Arjuna Award. In 2020, the ace jumper was awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.
