Overcomes physical disability to win gold at Paralympics

Mariyappan’s right foot got crushed in an accident when he was five years old

Paralympics high jump gold medal winner Mariyappan Thangavelu and Chairman of AP Differently Abled and Senior Citizens Assistance Corporation G. Koteswara Rao listen as Mariappan's coach Satyanarayan explains the performance of his ward, at a press conference in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

Mariyappan Thangavelu, when he was a child, was keen to play games like other children at the school, in spite of being hampered by damaged right foot. Children were practising all the games but none took to high jump and he was allotted a slot.

Mariyappan practised hard with grit and determination in his native place Salem in Tamil Nadu and the right foot, crushed in an accident when he was five years old due to a rash driver, was not a hindrance. At the age of 21 Mariyappan, who comes from a humble background from Periavadagampatti village, his mother Saroja sells vegetables, picked up the high jump gold in the T-42 category at the summer paralympics 2016 at Rio de Janeiro.

He was also practising volleyball and this game which also involves a lot of jumping and helped him in high jump, recalls his coach Satyanarayana, several times international in 1500 m running and National winner, who is now with SAI in Bengaluru.

Satyanarayana spotted Mariyappan at an athletic meet and brought him to SAI, Bengaluru two and a half years ago and put through the rigorous coaching. Satyanarayan had earlier coached H.N. Girisha to gold in the previous paralympics.

Mariyappan is competing in the world meet for physically challenged in July and his aim is to compete and win medals in the 2020 and 2024 paralympics.

“Age is on his side and he can do it,” says his coach.

The two along with another medal winner in the Rio paralympics Devendra Jhaharia, who won javelin gold at Athens in 2004 and again at Rio are here to receive felicitations from the Gurudeva Charitable Trust.

They have also interacted with winners of a para Olympiad conducted on Tuesday and distributed artificial limbs etc. to the needy at a programme conducted near Kothavalasa.

Chairman of the AP Differently Abled and Senior Citizens Assistance Corporation G. Koteswara Rao said that Mariyappan and Devendra were examples of how self confidence of a person would overcome disability.

Mariyappan has inspired many others, he said.

Mr. Koteswara Rao said that 2,500 motorised wheelchairs would be provided by the Andhra Pradesh government to the needy persons.