Tokyo 2020 Paralympics
Tokyo Paralympics: Praveen Kumar wins silver medal in men's high jump
India's Praveen Kumar wins silver medal in the finals of Men's High Jump - T44 at Tokyo Paralympics on Friday.
Para high jumper Praveen Kumar (Source: TOI)
India's para high jumper Praveen Kumar wins silver medal in the finals of Men's High Jump - T44 at Tokyo Paralympics on Friday.
On a rain-soaked track at the Olympic Stadium, Praveen Kumar became the youngest Paralympic for India at the age of 18. Kumar passed on his first attempt of 1.83 and directly cleared 1.88m in his first jump. Then after sitting through the 1.93m mark, he cleared 1.97m on his first attempt which was enough to ensure him a medal. It took two attempts for Kumar to clear the 2.01m mark, alongside Great Britain's Jonathan Edwards Broom and Poland's Maciej Lepiato.
Kumar cleared 2.04m jump in his first attempt. He couldn't clear the 2.07m mark in his first attempt. However, he made a smooth finish to clear the mark in his second try making the Asian Record, which Broom and Lepiato had failed. Lepiato failed to clear the mark in his third attempt, which had assured Praveen at least a silver. Broom cleared the 2.10m mark in his second attempt, which Praveen failed to clear in his three attempts, thus settling for silver.
Kumar's was the fourth medal for India in men's high jump at Tokyo Games after Nishad Kumar, Mariyappan Thangavelu, and Sharad Kumar.
Praveen is ranked 3rd in the world in his category. He also won the gold medal creating an Asian record at the World Para Athletics FAZZA Grand Prix 2021, Dubai. Praveen's one leg was short since birth. He took up participating in sports with his school friends. Volleyball was his favourite game initially. Once he happened to participate in a high jump event in an able-bodied athletics competition, after which he came to know that there are sports for the physically disabled, too. He has been trained under Dr. Satyapal SIngh.
