Paralympian Praveen Kumar wins gold in able-bodied athletics meet

athletics saw history being created on Saturday when Tokyo Paralympian high-jumper Praveen Kumar clinched a sensational gold at the 20th National Federation Cup Junior U20 championships in Gujarat’s Nadiad to become the first para-athlete from the country to finish on top of the podium in an able-bodied competition. Praveen cleared the height of 2.06m in his second attempt to win the gold in a strong field of 16 able-bodied high jumpers. This was the second time Praveen had competed in an able-bodied athletics meet, after his creditable sixth-place finish at the senior national Federation Cup held in Calicut in April. At the meet, the para-athlete from Greater Noida’s Jewar, had recorded his best jump of 2.05m before he twisted his ankle.

Praveen, who became the youngest medal winner in the Indian contingent at the Tokyo Paralympics after he clinched silver at the age of 18, suffers from deformity in one leg and feet from birth. In Tokyo, his silver came in the men’s T64 high jump category — with an Asian record of 2.07m. But he belongs to the T44 disability classification for athletes with a leg deficiency, leg length difference, or impaired muscle power. Praveen, who took up the sport only in 2019, is just 1.65m in height, which is a rarity for a discipline like high jump, which is generally competed by tall athletes. At the Nadiad meet, his coach Dr Satyapal listed him as an able-bodied athlete despite the presence of some strong junior national campers and Praveen proved his mentor’s decision right after soaring to 2.06m.

Satyapal, who’s been training Praveen at the JLN stadium since 2018, told TOI: “When I started training the para players, some able-bodied athletes, coaches and administrators criticised me and