Mariyappan Thangavelu has now become a well-known face in the world of sports after he clinched the Bronze medal in the Men’s high jump T63 event at the Paris Paralympic 2014. He met with an accident at a very young age, changing his life forever. Since he was interested in sports, his parents and school teachers encouraged him to pursue sports. Let us know more about the athlete and his early life in this article.
Mariyappan is a resident of Periyavadagampatty village, located in the Salem district of Tamil Nadu, He lost a part of his right leg at the age of five after a bus ran over his leg while he was returning from school. Despite this, he continued his studies and completed his primary education. Even after losing his leg, Mariyappan had a deep interest in the sport of high jump. His school’s physical education teacher, Rajendra, encouraged him to continue the sport. At the age of 14, he took part in a competition that included para-athletes in which he secured second place.
In 2013, during national para-athletics competitions, Mariyappan’s performance was noticed by Satyanarayan, who then started to train him. In 2015, he joined Satyanarayan’s training centre in Bengaluru. In March 2016, the para-athlete qualified for the Rio Paralympic Games with a jump of 1.73 meters at the IPC Grand Prix in Tunisia. He then won a gold medal in the Rio Paralympics with a jump of 1.89 meters. He was congratulated for his success by people from all over India.
Following his gold medal victory in 2016, the Tamil Nadu government honoured him with a prize money of Rs 2 crore. In the 2021 Paralympics, he registered a jump of 1.86 meters and secured a silver medal. In the ongoing Paralympics, Mariyappan clinched the bronze medal with a jump of 1.85 meters. He became the first Indian to win three consecutive medals in three consecutive Paralympics.
In an exclusive interview, his mother mentioned that despite several problems he decided to pursue his passion in sport. She said, “My son met with an accident at the age of 5, but despite this, he pursued his passion for sports. As a result, he has won several competitions at both the state and national levels. Now, he has brought pride to our country by securing the bronze medal in this prestigious competition.”
“Mariyappan brought great pride to our villagePeriyavadagampatty, by winning the bronze medal in the Paris Paralympics. His gold medal in the 2016 Paralympics brought immense joy to our village and now with his continuous achievements in winning gold, silver and bronze, we consider this a great accomplishment. We wish Mariyappan further success in all his future endeavours,” a villager said.
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