Who is Suyash Jadhav? All you need to know about the Indian para-swimmer competing at the Paris 2024 Paralympics
Para-swimmer Suyash Jadhav will be hoping to make a mark at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Jadhav will be competing in the Men's 50m Butterfly S7 category. He qualified for the Paralympic Games by winning a bronze medal at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou in 2023.
Suyash, who was born in Solapur, Maharashtra, took a passion for swimming as a little kid. He developed a liking for the sport by watching his father, a state-level swimmer himself, compete at various competitions. However, an unfortunate accident came up as a roadblock in Jadhav's journey as an upcoming athlete.
On the eve of a cousin's wedding, the budding swimmer suffered an electrocution accident. After spending six months in a hospital, Suyash lost both his hands and wrists to amputation. However, this did not deter him from pursuing his dream of becoming a world-class athlete.
His passion for swimming kept him going, regardless of the life-altering accident. Just two years after the incident, Jadhav got back into training. In 2015, he won two medals at the IWAS World Games in Sochi, Russia.
The talented para-athlete then created history by becoming the first Indian para swimmer to register the 'A' qualifying mark for the Rio 2016 Paralympics. He was also India's only para-swimmer at the Games in Rio.
A look at Suyash Jadhav's illustrious career leading to the Paris 2024 Paralympics
Suyash Jadhav has plenty of silverware in his cabinet. The 30-year-old had first announced himself to the world with three silver medals at the 2016 German Swimming Championships.
Post his historic qualification for the 2016 Paralympic Games, Jadhav then went on to clinch one gold and two bronze medals at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta. His three medals came in the 50m butterfly, 200m Individual Medley, and 50m Freestyle categories respectively.
Suyash Jadhav then clinched three gold medals at the 21st National Para Swimming Championship in 2021-22. He also won the bronze at the Asian Para Games in 2023.
Jadhav finished fifth in his heat at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. He was bestowed with the Arjuna Award in 2020.