India’s outstanding performance in the Tokyo Paralympics continued on Tuesday, with three additional medals bringing the country’s total to ten for the first time. At the end of day 7, India had a total of ten medals, including two gold, five silver and three bronze.
Sharad Kumar, who won bronze in the Paralympics T42 high jump event with a season’s best effort of 1.83m, revealed that he was set to withdraw his name from the final owing to an ailment. Despite his difficulties, the athlete said that he overcame the odds to earn the medal.
Sharad Kumar, who won bronze with a leap of 1.73 metres, suffered a meniscus dislocation (a type of knee injury) on Monday. He said after winning the bronze medal at the Tokyo Paralympics that he was considering to withdraw his name because of the injuries he sustained. His father, on the other hand, recommended him to read the Bhagwad Gita.
‘I felt great to have won bronze as I had an injury on my leg (sustained during training on Monday), my meniscus dislocated last night. I the cried whole night and thought of pulling out of the event. I spoke to my family back home (last night) and my father asked me to read Bhagavad Gita and focus on what I can do and not on what I have no control over,’ Sharad Kumar said, adding, ‘So, I put the injury aside but every jump I took was a war. The medal is the icing on the cake.’
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The 29-year-old athlete hails from Patna and attended Delhi’s Modern School and Kirorimal College. Kumar has a master’s degree in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi. He is a two-time Asian Para Games high jump champion (2014 and 2018) and a world silver medalist (2019).
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