At 2:52 A.M., on Saturday 2016, India saw another historic win by Thangavelu Mariyappan (21) of Tamil Nadu and Varun Singh Bhati (21) of Noida. They won the gold and bronze medals respectively in the men’s high jump T-42 event at the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
At Mariyappan’s hometown Periyavadagampatti, a village located 50 KM from Salem in western Tamil Nadu, family members, friends and residents broke into celebrations even before the break of dawn. Their joy doubled when Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced a reward of Rs. 2 crore to the first Indian to win a gold medal in the high jump event in Paralympics. Thangavelu was just five years old when he lost his right leg. He was playing outside his home when a state transport bus ran over him, crushing his knee. But Thangavelu and his mother Saroja powered through the difficult circumstances. Saroja not only worked as a domestic help and vegetable vendor to support the two but she also made sure that Thangavelu had proper education. “Thankfully, I had supportive teachers and they gave me special care. Sometimes, they even paid my fees. The physical education teachers gave me the same encouragement that they gave others. They sent me to district and state paralympic meets from a young age, and I used to win more medals than others,” he says. In 2013, his current coach, Satyanarayana, first noticed his performance at the Indian national para-athletics championships, and took him under his wing for coaching. And from there started the journey of a gold medalist.
Varun Singh Bhati is a Para high jumper and one of India’s top athletes in his sports. The nature of his handicap is called Poliomyelitis (deformity in one leg.) Afflicted by Polio at a young age, Varun somehow managed to find the right balance in sport and education and excelled in both the fields. His talent was discovered again by Mr. Satyanarayana, a former national athlete. Varun recorded a jump of 1.82 m at the 2016 IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championship where he won a gold as well as setting a new Asian Record.
With these two Paralympians reaching greater heights, we cannot help but admire the amount of dedication, determination, sweat and blood (literally) that they have given for this. It truly goes to show that no matter the consequences of our life, the result can be a stand at the podium with Gold medal around your neck.
As for Thangavelu, his motivation has always been to see a smile on his mother’s face. “Nothing motivates me more. Before every jump, I visualise her smiling face and that propels me,” he says. Now, all he wants is to see his smiling mother in their two room house in Periavadamgatti.
