- Monday, September 16, 2024
The 21-year-old from Noida, who was born with a short leg, produced a season best jump of 2.08m to finish on top of the podium
By: Shajil Kumar
TOKYO Games silver medallist Praveen Kumar of India smashed the Asian record to clinch the gold medal in the men’s high jump T64 event at the Paris Paralympics on Friday.
The 21-year-old from Noida, who was born with a short leg, produced a season-best jump of 2.08m in the six-jumper field to finish on top of the podium.
USA’s Derek Loccident claimed the silver with a best jump of 2.06m while Uzbekistan’s Temurbek Giyazov, who notched a personal best 2.03m, finished third.
T64 is for athletes with movement moderately affected in one lower leg or the absence of one or both legs below the knee. While T44, under which Praveen is categorised, is for athletes with movement affected at a low or moderate degree in one lower leg.
First medal in judo
Kapil Parmar who suffered an electric shock during in his childhood, which severely impacted his vision, became the first Indian judoka to win a medal at the Paralympics in Paris.
The 23-year-old from Sehore in Madhya Pradesh won a bronze in the men’s 60kg (J1) defeating Brazil’s Elielton de Oliveira in the play-off here.
It was by far the biggest achievement of his career and came after years of hardship.
As a child, Parmar had a life-altering accident when playing in the fields of his village, when he accidentally touched a water pump, resulting in a severe electric shock.
He was found unconscious by a villager and taken to the hospital, where he remained in coma for six months.
His eyes were severely impacted and he competes in the J1 class where competitors have lost 90 per cent of their vision.
He is the youngest of four brothers and a sister. Parmar’s father works as a taxi driver, while his sister runs a primary school.
Despite the setback, Parmar never gave up his love for judo. He continued to pursue his passion in blind judo, thanks to his coach Munawar Azar.
Parmar also used to run a tea stall with his brother Lalit to make ends meet.
Lalit, his source of inspiration, even now remains his main source of financial support.
Parmar hopes his historic medal will lift the profile of the sport in India.
“I am currently world number one and top seed, so I had come with gold medal in mind. But it was not my day and had to settle for bronze. I am feeling proud to have won first para judo medal for the country,” he said.
“It is a sport not many people still don’t know. Hope my medal inspires para sport. It’s a difficult journey but I have made my country and parents proud. I dedicate this medal to my coach Munawar Azar,” said an emotional Parmar.
The J1 class in para judo is for athletes who suffer from no to very low visual activity. Athletes in this category wear red circles to indicate that they may need guided support before, during and after a contest.
Parmar, who won the silver medal at the 2022 Asian Games in the same category, had beaten Venezuela’s Marco Dennis Blanco 10-0 in the quarterfinals here.
Simran finishes fourth
India’s Simran finished fourth in the women’s 100 T12 final at the Paralympics here on Thursday.
Simran, accompanied by her guide Abhay Singh, finished fourth and last in the sprint race clocking 12.31 seconds.
Cuba’s Omara Durand Elias (guide Yuniol Kindelan) comfortably won the gold with a timing of 11.81 seconds.
The silver went to Ukraine’s Oksana Boturchuk (guide Mykata Barabanov) and bronze to Germany’s Katrin Mueller (guide Noel-Phillippe Fiener), who recorded 12.17s and 12.26s respectively.
Earlier on Thursday, Simran had advanced to final after clocking 12.33 in the semifinals.
The 24-year-old reigning world champion from New Delhi finished second behind Germany’s Katrin Mueller-Rottgardt in semifinal 2.
Simran, who was born prematurely with visual impairment, was ranked third overall in the semifinals.
Simran had produced a season’s best effort of 12.17 in her heats on Wednesday.
The T12 category is meant for athletes who have visual impairment. (PTI)
