Tokyo Paralympics: India's Praveen Kumar bags Silver in men's high jump T44 event

In a proud achievement for India, Praveen Kumar on Friday clinched the Silver medal in the Men's high jump T44 final event at the Tokyo Paralympics. Kumar won the medal after having bettered his personal best and set a new Asian record with 2.07m. Kumar competed with Great Britain's Jonathan Broom-Edwards for the gold medal and fell just short of clearing the 2.10m. With the medal, Praveen Kumar joins Nishad Kumar, who bagged the silver medal for India in the high jump T-47 category on Sunday (August 29).

Praveen Kumar wins Silver 

Ace High jumper Praveen Kumar made his performance count with a medal at his Paralympics finals debut. It was sheer domination by Praveen Kumar as he passed his first attempt of 1.83m. After passing the first jump, Kumar brilliantly cleared the 1.88m mark to be in joint first position, along with Poland's Maciej Lepiato. Kumar once again gave a pass on the 1.93m attempt. Kumar stood joint second having cleared 1.88m and trailed GBR's Jonathan Broom-Edwards on top with a clearance of 1.93m until his next try. 

Kumar cleared the 1.97m attempt with ease to join the first position along with Maciej Lepiato and Jonathan Broom-Edwards. However, the Indian jumper fell just short of clearing the 2.01m in his attempt. The jumper went back and completed the jump in his second attempt to once again match his fellow competitors. Kumar went on to clear the 2.04m attempt with ease. Kumar went on to better his personal best and set a new Asian record by clearing 2.07m in his second attempt. Lepiato finished third and took the bronze while Kumar competed with Broom-Edwards to clinch the gold. Both athletes fell short of clearing the 2.10m jump in their first attempts. However, Broom-Edwards cleared the jump in his second attempt to clinch the top medal. Kumar finished the event with a proud silver for India's medal tally. 

Praveen Kumar Paralympics journey

The 18-year-old high jumper had made it to the men's high jump T64 final with a lot of promise, courtesy of a personal best of 2.05m. Kumar was termed as one of the strongest contenders in the Indian contingent to ensure a podium finish in the event. The young athlete had missed out on a bronze medal marginally at 2019 Junior World Para Athletics Championships. However, Kumar marked a jump of 1.92m to finish fourth-place at the Junior Championships making it his personal best. The fourth-place finish also ensured the sixth Paralympic qualification spot for India.

Following this, Praveen Kumar went on to win his first senior international gold medal at the 12th Fazza International World Para Athletics Grand Prix earlier this year. Praveen's personal best of 2.05m at the event had set a new record. This performance of 2.05m had put him in the top three amongst his competitors, making him a medal contender at the final event. The Asian record holder had then said that he was determined to win the gold at the Tokyo Paralympics final. Praveen Kumar had one leg shorter since birth. The athlete went on to achieve greatness in sports. He is currently ranked 3rd in the world in the High Jump T44 category.

IMAGE: TWITTER