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Rio Paralympics: Thagavelu wins gold, Bhati bronze

  • Thangavelu won the gold with his best jump of 1.89 metres.
  • Bhati's best effort of 1.86m fetched him the bronze.
  • From PM Modi to cine star Amitabh Bachchan, wishes have poured in for the wins.
Rio Paralympics india gold thagavelu

India made an impressive start to its campaign at the Paralympic Games with Mariyappan Thangavelu creating history by bagging the gold while Varun Bhati won the bronze medal in the men's T42 high jump on the second day of the mega-event, here.

 

But it was a disappointment for another Indian athlete Sharad Kumar who failed to finish on the podium.

 

Thangavelu won the yellow metal with his best jump of 1.89 metres, while Bhati's best effort of 1.86m fetched him the bronze.

 

The silver medal in this event went to USA's Sam Grewe who also registered the same mark of 1.86 metres.

 

But it was heartbreak for Kumar, who led the pack at one stage after clearing hurdles of 1.55m and 1.60m. His best jump, though, was only 1.77m which placed him at the sixth position.

 

The event witnessed huge competition as six out of the 12 para-athletes cleared the 1.74m mark in their first eight attempts.

 

In his 10th attempt, Thangavelu jumped 1.77m successfully, along with three others – Poland's Lukasz Mamczarz, China's Zhiqiang Zhing and countrymate Kumar.

 

In the later stages of the contest being reduced to only three competitors, Bhati set the tone with a jump of 1.83m mark along with Thagavelu.

 

However, just when it looked like India would fetch gold and silver, the American cleared 1.86m to grab the top spot but the Indians also equalled the height to make it even.

 

Eventually, in a nail-biting finale, Thangavelu grabbed the top honours by finishing with a jump of 1.89m.

 

The feat of the duo has been commended by many in the country starting from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to India's lone individual Olympic gold-medallist Abhinav Bindra.

 

 "India is elated! Congratulations to Mariyappan Thangavelu on winning a gold & Varun Singh Bhati for the bronze at the #Paralympics," Modi tweeted for the duo.

 

"Mariyappan joins the gold medal club, welcome! Kudos 2 @GoSportsVoices for aiding Varun Bhati who won bronze! Champs," Abhinav Bindra tweeted.
     

 

Sports Minister Vijay Goel also heaped praise on the duo. "Congratulations to Mariyappan Thangavelu for winning #Gold & Varun Singh Bhati for winning #bronze in Men's high Jump at Rio," he said. "It is a big achievement and I am very proud of our athletes," he added.

 

Rio Olympics bronze-medallist Sakshi Malik said the two are an inspiration for other athletes. "Indian sports mein prerna ki kami nahin hai (there is no dearth of inspiration in Indian sports). Congrats Mariyappan Thangavelu aur Varun Bhati aapke gold aur bronze ke liye. #Paralympics," she tweeted.

 

Filmstar Amitabh Bachchan also congratulated the duo. "T2375 -#Paralympics joy for India .. Gold & Bronze for Thangavelu and Bhatti in high jump ! COME ON INDIA !!!," he tweeted.

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