Paralympics 2024
Paralympics 2024: Sharad, Mariyappan secure double podium in High Jump
India's Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu clinched silver and bronze in the men's T63 high jump at the Paris Paralympics.
Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu secured silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the men’s T63 high jump, at the Paris Paralympics on Tuesday.
Sharad Kumar, who previously won bronze in Tokyo, jumped to silver this time, setting a new Paralympics record in T42 category.
He cleared 1.88m to set the Paralympics record and secure the medal.
Sharad who had a season best of 1.85m, attempted 1.94m in his last two effrots to challenge the gold medalist Ezra Frech of the USA but fell short.
Mariyappan Thangavelu made history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win medals in three consecutive Paralympic Games.
His bronze in Paris adds to the gold he won in Rio 2016 and the silver from Tokyo 2020, marking him as one of India’s most consistent para-athletes.
Mariyappan cleared 1.85m to secure the bronze. He was looking effortless till the 1.85m mark but failed to clear the 1.88m mark despite three attempts.
However, Shailesh Kumar narrowly missed out on a podium finish, placing fourth with a best attempt of 1.85 meters.
Despite the disappointment, his performance was solid, and he remains a strong contender for the future.
India’s double podium finish in high jump is followed by a second double podium finish in javelin as Ajeet Singh won silver medal with personal best throw of 65.62m
And Sundar Singh Gurjar won bronze medal with season best throw of 64.96m.
With this India's medal tally has rose to 20, with 3 golds, 7 silvers and 10 bronze medals.