Biographical Facts - Mariappan Thangavelu

 

Biographical Facts on Mariappan Thangavelu

• v  At Rio 2016, Mariappan Thangavelu won India’s first Paralympic gold medal since 2004 with victory in the men’s high jump
• v  He won a silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics in the Men's High Jump
• v  Born in a poor family in Periavadagampatti village (Salem) in Tamil Nadu, Mariyappan’s father abandoned the family when Mariyappan was a small kid. His mother, Saroj singlehandedly raised him and his three siblings. His mother used to work as a laborer to make ends meet. Later on, she switched to selling vegetables.
• v  Mariyappan suffered a major accident when he was just 5 years old. He was walking to his school when he was run over by a drunken bus driver. The bus ran over Mariyappan's leg which permanently crushed his leg below the knee. His mother Saroja took a loan of three lakh rupees for Mariyappan’s treatment. Unfortunately, he was left with stunted growth and permanent disability. Mariyappan did not quit and kept playing sports regularly.
• v  His mother would take shelter with her four children at the school or panchyat office building on rainy days.
• v  when he turned 18, Mariappan himself worked in a brick kiln and supported the family. 
• v  Initially, Mariyappan was interested in volleyball, but in seventh grade, he switched to athletics. It was his high school physical education teacher who encouraged him to take up the high jump. Later, he was spotted by coach Satyanarayana at the 2013 National Para-Athletics Championship. Satyanarayana identified Mariyappan’s talent and took him to Bengaluru for advanced training. Mariyappan learnt new techniques and developed his skills at the Sports Academy of India center for differently-abled in Bengaluru.
• v  Within just a year and a half of training, he became World No. 1 in 2015. First, Mariyappan made a mark at the national level first, then the international level, and went on to script history in Rio Paralympic games.