Paris Paralympics 2024: Praveen Kumar clinches gold in men’s high jump T64

Praveen Kumar (Pic: X)

Praveen Kumar captured the gold medal in Friday's men's high jump event at the Paris Paralympics 2024.

With an impressive leap of 2.08 meters, he secured his second gold and India's 11th medal in Paralympics history.

Also Read: Nishad Kumar: Losing a hand, regaining a life!

The 21-year-old athlete from Noida, Uttar Pradesh, has become only the second Indian, after Mariyappan Thangavelu, to achieve gold in Paralympic high jump events. Derek Loccident of the USA took silver with a jump of 2.06 meters, while Temurbek Giyazov from Uzbekistan claimed bronze with a 2.03-meter jump.

This victory has propelled India to a historic sixth gold medal in the Paris Paralympics 2024, surpassing the five-gold achievement from the 2022 Tokyo Para Games. Additionally, Praveen, who won silver in Tokyo, has contributed to expanding India's medal tally at the Paris Games to a remarkable 26.

Opting to start from 1.89m, Kumar aced seven jumps in his first attempt to put himself in pole position. The bar was then raised to 2.10m, with Kumar and Loccident fighting for the top spot but both failed to clear the mark.

Praveen, who was also the 2023 world championship bronze-medallist, recorded not just an Asian record but his personal best performance too.

His impairment, which is congenital, affects the bones that connect his hip to his left leg.

In his formative years, Kumar has confessed to grappling with feelings of inadequacy.

He started playing sports to deal with his insecurities and found a passion for volleyball. But his life changed when he took part in a high jump event at an able-bodied athletics competition.

He is the third high jumper after Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu to secure a medal in Paris.

Sharad and Thangavelu won silver and bronze in the men's high jump T63 event on September 3.

(With agency inputs)