Noida lad Praveen Kumar books 2024 Paris Paralympics berth
The 20-year-old wins high jump bronze at World Para Athletics to become first para-athlete from Uttar Pradesh to qualify for the Paris Paralympics
LUCKNOW Para-athlete Praveen Kumar has evolved as a player since he bagged a silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021. On Monday night, the Noida lad became the first para-athlete from Uttar Pradesh to qualify for the 2024 Paris Paralympics after wining a bronze medal in the men’s high jump T64 event at the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris. Kumar’s medal was the first for India at the championships.
The 20-year-old Kumar produced a season best effort of 2.01m to finish third behind Lepiato Maciej (2.05m) of Poland and Broom-Edwards Jonathan (2.05m) of Great Britain. The top four ranked athletes at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in each of the individual medal events qualify for the 2024 Paralympic Games, also to be held in Paris.
“A podium finish at the world championship on Monday is certainly a booster to my confidence. I am sure to see a change in the colour of my medal at the Paris Paralympics,” said Kumar, who hails from Jewar’s Govindgarh village.
T44 classification is for athletes with a leg deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement in the legs.
“The silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics has given me enough confidence to do well at the international level,” Kumar said on Tuesday.
“I would be using all my experience to convert my silver medal into gold at the 2024 Games. I am also thankful to my coach Satyapal for keeping me motivated to do well,” he added.
For the past four years, Kumar has been training at the Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) stadium in Delhi. In April 2021, he tested Covid-19 positive, which put a pause to his training, but he recovered from it.
“When I was in Class 12, I moved to Delhi for my training. During this time, my school supported me a lot by helping me with missed classes and I managed to clear my board exams. I got admission to Moti Lal Nehru College in Delhi University,” he said.
Kumar was good at volleyball in school, before he started training for high jump in 2018. “I did not know about para-sports until 2018, after which I took part in a district-level game from where I contacted my coach, Satyapal Sir. Because of his efforts, I managed to win a silver medal for India and now a bronze, with just three years of experience in professional high jumping. I always dreamt of making my parents and village proud, and today it seems I have achieved that,” he added.
During the Tokyo Paralympics, Kumar had also set a new Asian record with a jump of 2.07m.
