TNI Bureau: All the sacrifices made by the mother of Mariyappan Thangavelu have paid off as Mariyappan Thangavelu scripted history late Tuesday night as he became the first Indian para-athlete to win medals at three consecutive Paralympics.
He is a triple Paralympics medalist having won the Gold at Rio 2016 Paralympic Games with a jump of 1.89m and Silver at Tokyo 2020 with 1.86m and the Bronze medal in the men’s high jump T63 class at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
Abandoned by his father, Mariyappan’s mother, Saroja raised her children as a single mother by working as a daily wage laborer and vegetable seller.
Born in Periavadagampatti village, Salem district, Tamil Nadu, Mariyappan suffered permanent disability in his right leg in a road accident at the age of five but that did not stop him from taking part in sports events.
The Government of India conferred him with the Padma Shri award in 2017. He was also awarded the Arjuna Award and the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2020 for his contribution towards sports.