Paralympic Gold Medalist Mariyappan Thangavelu's Journey To The Top Is Simply Inspiring!
Thangavelu just received the Padma Shri from President Pranab Mukherjee
Last year, everyone celebrated hard as Paralympian Mariyappan Thangavelu clinched gold in the 2016 Summer Paralympics. Thangavelu became a star overnight as India's Olympic contingent hadn't pulled off anything extraordinary. Now, Thangavelu has another discerning feather in his cap. He's just been awarded the Padma Shri by President Pranab Mukherjee at the Parliament. His journey is so sensational that there's also a biopic on him in the pipeline.
Paralympian Mariyappan Thangavelu receives Padma Shri from President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi pic.twitter.com/4qUwtQrUD5
¡ª ANI (@ANI_news) April 13, 2017
But how much do you know about his journey? Here are details on the man:
1) While going to school as a five-year-old, he suffered an accident that changed his life forever. A bus ran over his right leg, hence leaving it crushed forever.
2) He wanted to be a volleyball player. But then over time, he took to athletics and also beat many athletes who were able-bodied.
3) His talent was spotted by his coach Satyanarayana when he was only 18 years old.
4) His mother was a vegetable vendor by profession. She also took a three-lakh loan to recover his deformed foot.
5) He's the third Indian gold medalist at the Paralympics. The first two were swimmer Muralikant Petkar (1972) and javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia (2004).
6) Thangavelu has this firm belief that his deformed foot works in his favour. The fact that it is deformed, he believes it helps him take a better leap during high jump.
7) For winning the gold medal in the high jump T-42 category, he was awarded 75 lakhs by the Sports Ministry and 2 crores by Jayalalithaa's government.
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