Mariyappan Thangavelu is a shy and reserved guy, but when it came to high jump training he was extremely disciplined and braved wounds in his handicapped leg, his coach said
Mariyappan Thangavelu poses after winning the gold medal
Mariyappan Thangavelu poses after winning the gold medal. Pic/ AFP
Chennai: Mariyappan Thangavelu is a shy and reserved guy, but when it came to high jump training he was extremely disciplined and braved wounds in his handicapped leg, his coach said. A holder of Bachelor’s in Business Administration (BBA) degree, Thangavelu is yet to get a proper job. He lost one of his legs at the age of five while playing outside his house when a state owned bus crushed it.
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Thangavelu trained under K Elamparithi, athletics coach at Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), Salem around 350 km from here.
“We were sure of him winning a medal based on the height cleared by high jumpers in the earlier editions of the Paralympics. In the local level events he was clearing a height of two metres,” Elamparithi said.
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