‘Golden boy’ T. Mariyappan, who created history by winning the high jump event in the just-concluded Rio Paralympics, arrived to a rousing reception at his Periavadagampatti village, about 40 km from Salem city, on Saturday.
Mariyappan, who arrived in Chennai on Friday, reached here by road. He was received by V. Sampath, District Collector, along with a host of senior officials at the Thoppur check-post on the Salem-Bengaluru national highway. The Collector presented a shawl and bouquet to him lauding his achievement.
Saroja, Mariyappan’s mother, gave a warm hug to her son as he got down from the car. A visibly moved Saroja said she had reposed faith in her son and he had not failed her.
At Teevattipatti town on the national highway, hundreds of men, women and children gave Mariyappan a warm reception. They surrounded his vehicle and raised slogans hailing his achievement. The enthusiasm among the youth was such that the police had a difficult time dispersing the crowd. The movement of vehicles on the highway was affected for a few minutes.
The police led Mariyappan to a waiting van. Atop the van, while Mariyappan waved to the crowd holding a bunch of national flags, his mother accepted the greetings with folded hands. He was then taken in a procession to Periavadagampatti village. People from the surrounding villages, his friends, relatives and sports enthusiasts followed Mariyappan’s van in cars, auto-rickshaws and two-wheelers.
A large number of people lined up on both sides of the road as the convoy made brief stopovers at villages along the route. They moved close to the van to take selfies with Mariyappan. As the convoy reached Periavadagampatti village after covering a distance of nine km in a little over an hour, more than 3,000 people of the village and surrounding areas greeted him. The local people, particularly women, positioned themselves at vantage points to catch of a glimpse of their hero.
The village wore a festive look. Giant flex-boards and banners displaying the portrait of Mariyappan were found in every corner of the tiny village.
