From Having His Leg Crushed By A Bus To A Gold In Paralympics, Here's The Journey Of Mariyappan Thangavelu

Earlier this year, Mariyappan Thangavelu said that anything is possible at the Rio Paralympics, even gold is not possible. At that time however, his dreams of achieving that were still distant as India's paralympic body was suspended internationally.

AFP

A couple of months later, Mariyappan could soon have his target in sight. On wee hours of Saturday, September 9, 2016, Mariyappan scripted history for India with a gold medal in T42 men's high jump and lived up to his words. He is now the third Indian after Murlikant Petkar (1972 Helsinki gold in swimming) and Devendra Jhajharia (2004 Athens gold in javelin throw) to win gold at the Paralympics.

AFP

But his journey, like every other participating athlete at the Rio 2016 Paralympics has been full of pain and struggles.

He was five years old when an accident left him with permanent disability. He was going to school in his village of Periavadagampatti when a bus swerved towards the edge of the road and ran over his right leg, crushing it below the knee.

AFP

His mother, in a humble profession of selling vegetables, took a Rs 3-lakh loan for his medical treatment and Mariyappan, till about two months back was still paying it off.

Although he started with a craze for volleyball, he took athletics and featured in many events with able-bodied athletes. In his first competitive event, as a 14-year-old, stood second.

Mariyappan believes his deformed right foot, which is still like a 5-year-old's leg, gives him extra leverage when he takes the leap. And sure, his personal best leaf of 1.89 metres high was enough to sound the India's national anthem at Rio's athletics arena.

AFP

Mariyappan's coach, Satyanarayana, first spotted him at the National para-athletics championships of 2013 and two years later took him under his wing, bringing him to Bengaluru for training. Mariyappan had said that After Rio Paralympics, he wants to find a good job and take care of his mother.

With Rs 75 lakh assured from the Sports Ministry for his gold medal and Rs 2 crore promised by his state's Jayalalitha government, his future is secured. Here, relive that moment below.

Mariyappan Thangavelu's gold medal jump in Men's T42 High Jump #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/2KhLdMcBJD

¡ª Reddit Indian Sports (@redditIndSports) 10 September 2016