High Jumper Nishad Kumar won India its second silver in Tokyo Paralympics 2021, on 29 August.
The 21-year-old, who was one of India’s biggest medal prospects, made a jump of 2.06m in Men's High Jump T47 Final to clinch the second position. In this event, he also created the Asian record with his best jump in the final.
USA’s Roderick Townsend and Dallas Wise won the gold and bronze medals, respectively.
Nishad who hails from Una in Himachal Pradesh started with 1.89 metres which he cleared easily. He cleared 1.94 in his second effort and 1.98 in his third jump.
His best effort of 2.06 came in his fifth jump and though he went for 2.09 in his final chance, he could not clear it and had to settle for second place.
Nishad, who suffers lower-limb impairment, trains at the Sports Authority of India facilities at Bangalore and is participating in his first Paralympic Games.
He won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Dubai in 2019.
A physical education student from Lovely Professional University, Nishad began competing in para-athletics in 2009 and has won several medals at the national level.
Ram Pal, the other Indian in the fray in the event, finished fifth with a personal best effort of 1.94 metres.
Earlier in the day, Bhavina Patel brought India its first win at the Tokyo Paralympics Games with a historic silver medal in the women’s individual Class 4 Table Tennis.
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