Praveen Kumar won India's 26th medal at the Paris Paralympics when he clinched gold in the men's high jump T64 finals at Stade de France in Paris on Friday. (Full Coverage | More Sports News)
Kumar also set a new Area Record when he crossed 2.08m on the first attempt. That was the fifth incident in a row when he cleared the height in the first attempt. Derek Loccident of USA won silver whereas Uzbekistan's Temurbek Giyazov and Poland's Maciej Lepiato shared bronze in the para-athletics event.
Praveen, born in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, participated in his second Paralympic Games in Paris. Three years ago, he won a silver medal in the Tokyo Paralympics with an impressive jump of 2.07m, making him the youngest para-athlete to win a medal at the games.
After securing the gold medal, Praveen attempted to clear 2.10m three times but was unsuccessful. This marks India's sixth gold medal at the Paris Paralympics, bringing their total medal count to 26, including nine silver and 11 bronze medals.
Praveen, who was born with a short leg, struggled with feelings of inferiority compared to his peers. However, he found sports to be a way to tackle these emotions. After guidance from Dr. Satyapal Singh, he chose the high jump, which ultimately led to him becoming an Indian gold medallist in the Paralympics.
The start was not ideal for Praveen as he failed to clear the first two jumps of 1.80m and 1.85m respectively but he went on to clear the next seven jumps on the first attempt. He tried his best to clear the bar of 2.10m but he failed in all three attempts.
With the help of this medal, India have climbed to 14th place in the medal tally of the Paris Paralympics 2024. China is leading the table with 169 medals including 74 golds.
