Mariyappan Thangavelu is an Indian Paralympic high jumper who became the first Paralympic Gold Medallist In High Jump since 2004.
New Delhi: Mariyappan Thangavelu is an Indian Paralympic high jumper who became the first Paralympic Gold Medallist In High Jump since 2004. He was born on 28th June 1995, in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district. He won the silver medal in the men’s high jump T-42 category at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020, scripting history.
He graduated from AVS College of Arts and Science in business administration, Thangavelu suffered a permanent disability in his right leg when he was run over by a bus at the age of five. 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 by his physical education teacher to take up sports and then he got into athletics. His life changed when his current coach Satyanarayana noticed his stellar performance at the Indian national para-athletics championships and brought him to Bengaluru for further coaching.
In 2106, Thangavelu qualified for a gold medal at the Grand Prix in Tunis, Tunisia, after clearing a height of 1.78m. He bagged a gold medal in the Men’s high jump T-42 category with a jump of 1.89m at the Rio Paralympics. Thangavelu did not stop there and went on to win a bronze medal in the Men’s high jump T-63 event at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championship.
He was conferred with Padma Shri in 2017 for his contribution to the field of sports and was also graced with the Arjuna Award. In 2020, the ace jumper was awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award.