India’s Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu secured silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the men’s high jump T63 category at the Paris 2024 Paralympics on Tuesday. Sharad, 32, cleared an impressive 1.88m in the final, but narrowly missed the gold to the USA’s Ezra Frech, who set a new Paralympic record with a jump of 1.94m.
This marked Sharad’s second Paralympic medal, adding to the bronze he won at Tokyo 2020 with a 1.83m clearance.
Reflecting on the intense competition, Sharad said, “It was an incredible contest. We pushed each other to the limit, especially Ezra and I. This was the toughest and most memorable competition of my life.”
The high jump event featured athletes from both the T63 and T42 classes, which are designated for competitors with limb deficiencies, such as amputations or congenital limb differences.
Sharad contracted polio at the age of two, while Mariyappan’s life was changed forever when he was struck by a bus at the age of five, resulting in permanent damage to his right leg. Both athletes compete in the T42 class.
Mariyappan, with a leap of 1.85m, earned the bronze medal and etched his name into history as the first Indian para-athlete to win medals at three consecutive Paralympic Games.
He previously claimed gold at Rio 2016 with a jump of 1.89m and followed it up with a silver at Tokyo 2020, clearing 1.86m.
Earlier in the day, Indian athletes also made waves in other events. In the men’s javelin throw F46 final, Ajeet Singh claimed silver, while Sundar Singh Gurjar took home bronze.
In SH1 shooting, Avani Lekhara added a gold medal to India’s tally, while Mona Agarwal secured bronze.
In badminton, Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manisha Ramadass brought further pride to India with silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the SU5 class.
Stay tuned on ChakDeBharat for more sports updates.