Indian para-athlete Praveen Kumar earned a silver medal in the men’s high jump T64 event at the Tokyo Paralympics. This has increased India’s medal tally to 11 in this edition of the Games.
🇮🇳 back at it!!! #PraveenKumar has WON #Silver with a new Asian Record in T64/T44 with a High Jump of 2.07 mtrs! Jump for Joy India, This is 🏅 no.
1️⃣1️⃣!! #Praise4Para#ParaAthletics #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/ZJaoB1bgKH— Paralympic India 🇮🇳 🏅#Praise4Para (@ParalympicIndia) September 3, 2021
The young 18-year-old star who is appearing in his debut Paralympics had set a new Asian record with a jump of 2.07 metres to clinch the medal. He was superseded by Great Britain representative Jonathan Broom-Edwards who surpassed his own personal best effort with a jump of 2.10 metres to achieve gold in this event. The bronze medal was clinched by Polish para-athlete Maciej Lepiota whose effort of 2.04 metres resulted in him earning that medal.
T64 classification is for those para-athletes who have had their legs amputated and compete with the use of prosthetics in a standing position. Kumar usually competes in the T44 category which is usually for para-athletes with a deficiency in their legs, difference in leg lengths, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement in the legs but the young para-athlete is also eligible for the T64 event. Kumar’s disability is congenital and affects the bones that connect the bones of the hip to the left leg.
Praveen is India’s fourth medallist in the high jump after Mariyappan Thangavelu, Nishad Kumar and Sharad Kumar won medals in the Tokyo Para-Games. Thangavelu and Nishad Kumar won silver in their respective events. Shared Kumar won bronze in his event, behind Mariyappan Thangavelu.
India has achieved its best medal haul in this year’s Paralympic Games. They have won already won 11 medals which consists of two gold medals, six silver and three bronze medals.
