The over 100-strong contingent at the Olympics may have struggled to win India medals in Rio, but the Paralympians have already got India on the board on the second day of the Games.
Mariyappan Thangavelu and Varun Singh Bhati grabbed the gold and bronze medals in the Men’s High Jump T42 Finals.
Following a series of extremely competitive jumps that saw the Indians match their rivals each time, Mariyappan clinched the gold by pulling off the highest jump of 1.89 meters. USA’s Sam Grewe and Varun Bhati, with jumps of 1.86 metres each, bagged the silver and bronze respectively.
India’s other medal prospect in the event, Sharad Kumar finished sixth.
Mariyappan’s medal in fact is India’s first-ever gold in high-jump at the Paralympics. He now becomes only the third Indian Paralympian to bag the medal, after swimmer Murlikant Petkar achieved the feat at the 1972 Heidelberg Games and then javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia finished on top of the podium at the Athens Games in 2004.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)