Paris Paralympics: Thangavelu defies the odds to soar again, now for bronze

Rio 2016: Gold. Tokyo 2020: Silver. Paris 2024: Bronze. The list of achievements is akin to some of the super athletes in the Olympics arena, but it belongs to one Mariyappan Thangavelu, India’s self-effacing para athlete high jumper who often flies under the radar.

At 29 years and a slight frame, Mariyappan looks even younger and tends to get overshadowed by the so-called bigger names like the double gold medallist Sumit Antil or former great Devendra Jhajharia, but has shown remarkable consistency in a journey spanning more than eight years now.  He had won gold at Rio with a jump of 1.89m in T63 class, a silver at Tokyo with 1.86m while late on Tuesday, an effort of 1.85m yielded him the bronze in Paris to make him the first Indian para-athlete to land medals in three back-to-back Games.

 It’s been raining medals for the Indian para-athletes this time as they have already overtaken the tally of 19 in Tokyo – but Mariyappan had been exceptional. Leading the applause, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on his X post: ‘’Congratulations to Mariyappan Thangavelu on winning the bronze medal in men’s high jump T63 event. It is commendable that he has won medals in three consecutive editions of the Paralympics. His skills, consistency and determination are exceptional.’’

 Sharad Kumar, his compatriot, took the silver with a jump of 1.88m in in their category – reserved for athletes who have limb deficiencies such as amputations or missing or shortended limbs from birth in their legs. USA’s Ezra Frech took the gold after a jump of 1.94m - a new Paralympic record.

Unlike the able bodied athletes whose preparation stories often attract decent coverage in Indian media these days, the para athletes work as hard in terms of overseas training, injury management – albeit silently. In the three-year cycle for Paris, Mariyappan had undertaken six exposure trips to  USA, France, Japan, China, Mexico while he had based himself in Chula Vista in the US for 85 days for a regime – a place where Neeraj Chopra also trains.

Early struggle

In yet another story of triumph against all odds, Mariyappan was born into a poor family in Periavadagampatti village in Salem, Tamil Nadu as one of six children. His father abandoned the family when he was young, leaving their mother to support the large family by working as a bricklayer and vegetable vendor – earning a measly Rs 100 a day. Despite this, she prioritised her children’s education.

At the age of five, Mariyappan’s life changed when a drunk bus driver ran over him, crushing his right leg below the knee. This left him with a permanent disability and he had to use a wooden leg to walk. However, not the one to wallow in self pity, Mariyappan continued his studies and graduated from high school.

Noticing an inclination towards sport on his part those days, a class teacher of Mariyappan encouraged him to try the high jump. He seemed blessed with a natural ability for the sport and started competing in local events. The way he started winning medals and trophies at the local level caught the attention of Satyanarayana, a renowned mentor and official for para-athletes. In 2015, Satyanarayana invited Mariyappan to join his training camp in Bengaluru. The Rio gold happened the next year – establishing the skinny para athlete as a name to reckon with in their world circuit.

He is currently employed at Sports Authority of India (SAI) as a senior coach but has no plans to quit active sport at this age. Not many are aware that Mariyappan has already received the Padma Shri and Arjuna Award in 2017 and the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2020 but then – he may already be making plans for LA 2028.

Achievements

• Paralympic Games, Rio de Janeiro (2016) : Gold

• Paralympic Games, Tokyo (2020): Silver

• Asian Para Games (2022): Bronze

• Asian Para Games (2018) : Bronze

• World Championship (2024): Gold

• World Para Athletics (2019) : Bronze