Who is Mariyappan Thangavelu? All you need to know about the Indian para-athlete competing in the Paris 2024 Paralympics
The upcoming Paris 2024 Paralympics will see 84 Indian para sportspersons compete for the ultimate glory, and para-athlete Mariyappan Thangavelu is one of those expected to challenge for a podium finish in France.
The 29-year-old para high jumper from Tamil Nadu is one of the most successful members of the Indian contingent on the plane to Paris, with multiple Paralympic medals. Due to his immense contribution to the para-athletics ecosystem in the country, Mariyappan has been accorded the Padma Shri, which is India’s fourth-highest civilian honor.
With a Paralympic gold medal in his bag from Rio 2016, Mariyappan Thangavelu will aim to become the first Indian para-athlete since Devendra Jhajharia to win two Paralympic gold medals.
Mariyappan Thangavelu’s career in brief
Mariyappan Thangavelu’s childhood has been marked by a series of tragedies. Born into a poor family in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district as one of six children, his father abandoned his family when he was still a kid. He was raised by his single mother, who worked as a daily wage laborer and vegetable seller to sustain her family.
Mariyappan then met with a tragic accident when he was just five years old. A drunk bus driver ran over his right leg as young Mariyappan walked to school, causing a permanent stunt in that limb.
Despite the mishap, Mariyappan’s spirit was not dampened in the slightest. With the encouragement of his classmates, he took up an interest in para-sports. Although he started with para-volleyball, he switched to para high jumping on the advice of his school's physical education instructor.
As a result of his performances in the national para-athletics championships, Mariyappan was spotted by the present Paralympic team head coach Satyanarayana in 2013, and the latter took him in as a student in 2015.
Mariyappan enjoyed his first taste of international success in the 2016 IPC Grand Prix in Tunisia. He cleared a distance of 1.78m in the men’s T42 category in the event. Even though he failed to win a medal, the then-20-year-old para-athlete secured qualification for the Rio 2016 Paralympics.
Mariyappan Thangavelu stunned the world in Rio, winning a gold medal in the T42 category with a jump of 1.89m. After establishing himself as a real tour de force in para-athletics, Mariyappan continued his good form by winning a bronze medal in the T63 category at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai, registering a jump of 1.80m.
In the delayed Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, he picked up his second-consecutive Paralympic medal, clinching a silver medal in the T63 category. He also clinched a silver medal in the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou.
Mariyappan Thangavelu has had a good run-up to the Paris 2024 Games, as he clinched a gold medal in the 2024 Para Athletics World Championships in Kobe, Japan. The Indian para-athlete cleared a distance of 1.88m, defeating Paralympic gold medalist Sam Grewe and former world champion Ezra Frech.