Mariyappan Thangavelu aims to win Gold at Paralympics
Mariyappan Thangavelu began his career as a newspaper vendor before winning gold in the men's high jump at the Rio Paralympics and receiving the coveted Khel Ratna Award in 2020.
Insight Bureau: Mariyappan Thangavelu began his career as a newspaper vendor before winning Gold in the men’s high jump at the Rio Paralympics and receiving the coveted Khel Ratna Award in 2020. Mariyappan will have another chance to guarantee that the Indian national anthem is heard loudly at Tokyo. But first, he has the honour and duty of becoming India’s flagbearer at the Tokyo Paralympic Games’ opening ceremony.
According to the Rio Paralympic gold medallist, “I have to win gold, break the record and I’m sure I can achieve it.”
Mariyappan, 26, is from Salem, Tamil Nadu, and was injured in an accident when he was five years old when a bus smashed his right leg below the knee. He was left with stunted development and a lifelong deformity in his limb as a result.
His father is said to have abandoned the family when he was a child, leaving his mother to support the family on her own. Despite the obstacles and difficulties placed against him, he did not surrender. To help his mother maintain the household, Mariyappan worked as a newspaper hawker in the morning and a daily wage employee at construction sites throughout the day from 2012 to 2015.
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Mariyappan first tried high jumping in high school when his physical education teacher pushed him to do so. Thangavelu competed in the National Para-athletics Championships when he was 18 years old, and coach R Satyanarayana recognised his talent and potential as a prospective medal-winning para-athlete.
In the upcoming Tokyo Paralympics, Mariyappan will compete in the men’s high jump F42 event. Athletes with a leg deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscular power, or impaired passive range of motion in the legs fall into the F42 group. Athletes compete in this category in a standing stance.
Following the Rio Olympics, he had an ankle injury in 2018, requiring surgery after a bone was slightly cut. Mariyappan went on to win the bronze medal in the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships after recovering from his injury.
Mariyappan revealed his future ambitions, stating that he intended to establish a sports academy with complete sports facilities.
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