Tokyo: Praveen Kumar, India’s para high- jumper, won the 11th medal for the nation at the Tokyo Paralympics. The 18 year old grabbed the silver medal in the men’s high jump T64 event, setting a new Asian record with a 2.07m jump, on his debut Paralympics.
Gold medal was won by Great Britain’s Jonathan Broom-Edwards, who notched up his season’s best of 2.10m. The bronze medal went to Rio Games champion Maciej Lepiato of Poland who covered a distance of 2.04m. India has so far claimed two gold, six silver and three bronze medals, in the tournament, highest ever in history.
Praveen couldn’t clear the 2.07m jump in his first attempt and had to settle for 2.04m instead. However, he succeeded in making a smooth finish to clear the mark in his second try making the Asian Record, which Broom and Lepiato couldn’t get through. Praveen Kumar acquired Paralympic qualification winning fourth-position finish in the men’s high jump T64 final at Junior Championships clearing 1.92m, with his personal best performance.
T64 cateogory is for athletes with a leg amputation, who compete with prosthetics in a standing position. T44, the disability classification that Kumar has but is eligible to compete in T64, is for athletes with a leg deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement in the legs. His impairment, which is congenital, affects the bones that connect his hip to his left leg. Praveen Kumar’s achievement recorded the fourth medal for India in men’s high jump at Tokyo Games after Nishad Kumar, Mariyappan Thangavelu, and Sharad Kumar.
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