Report by Shuchi Giridhar
Praveen Kumar, a Tokyo paralymics high jumper, clinched the gold medal at the 20th National Federation Cup Junior U20 championships.
The championships were held at Nadiyad in Gujarat. Getting the gold medal makes him the first disabled Indian man to complete an able bodied tournament and win a gold medal.
Amidst 16 able bodied high jumpers, Praveen Kumar went on to win gold after 2 attempts to clear the height of 2.06m. After the senior National Federation Cup which took place in Calicut in April 2022, this is the second able bodied tournament attended by Praveen Kumar.
Praveen Kumar has a deformity in his feet and one of his legs. In the Tokyo Paralympics, he participated in the T64 men long jump category, though he belonged in the T44 category for men with disabilities in the legs.
In the tournament, he claimed a silver medal with an Asian record of 2.07 m. Because he claimed the silver medal at the age of 18, he became the youngest medal winner in the Indian contingent.
Despite the strong competition at Nadiad, Praveen Kumar was listed as an able bodied player by his coach Dr Satyapal. The sport of long jump was taken up by Praveen Kumar in 2019.
He is 1.65 m tall. This is considered short for a long jump athlete. But despite all of his disadvantages, he proved his coach’s decision in listing him as able bodied to be the best.
Image Credit: Twitter of Paralympics India.