Tokyo Paralympics silver medalist Mariyappan Thangavelu won the gold medal in the height T63 on Tuesday (May 21) with a competition record of 1.88m at the International Games in Kobe, Korea.
It was his first gold medal at a major event in eight years. Mariyappan, 28, won the gold in the T42 high jump at the Rio 2016 Paralympics and the silver medal at the Tokyo 2021 edition in the T63. He also won a silver medal in the T63 class at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games last year. The T63 configuration is intended for athletes with one leg deficiency and one or more knees competing for a prosthesis.
Americans Ezra Frech and Sam Grewe won silver and bronze with jumps of 1.85m and 1.82m respectively. Hailing from Salem district in Tamil Nadu. Mariyappan was raised by his mother who worked as a vegetable vendor after his father abandoned the family.
At the age of five, Mariyappan suffered a permanent disability in his right leg when he was hit by a drunk driver on his way to school.
Before he started playing, he worked as a newspaper seller and also worked at a construction site. Additionally, he did this to help his mother take care of her family.
Tamil Nadu Industries Minister DRP Raja congratulated the athlete in a post on X. “Our Mariappan Thangavelu has won gold in men’s high jump at the World Para Athletics Championship in Kobe, Japan. Congratulations and congratulations,” he wrote.
India is ranked third in the event
Reigning Paralympic champion Sumit Antil successfully defended his F64 javelin world title. While Ekta Bhyan also won the gold medal with a personal best of 20.12m in the women’s F51 javelin event. Consequently, India climbed to third place in the event.
