Nishad Kumar jumps to glory with silver medal at Tokyo Paralympics, nation rejoices

Tokyo, Aug 29: India's Nishad Kumar made the national sports day celebration sweeter as he clinched a silver medal in the men's high jump T47 event in the Paralympics with an Asian record effort here on Sunday (August 29).

The 21-year-old Kumar cleared 2.06m to win the silver and set an Asian record. American Dallas Wise was also awarded a silver as he and Kumar cleared the same height of 2.06m. Another American, Roderick Townsend, won the gold with a world record jump of 2.15m.

Another Indian in the fray, Ram Pal finished fifth with a best jump of 1.94m. T47 class is meant for athletes with a unilateral upper limb impairment resulting in some loss of function at the shoulder, elbow, and wrist.

Hailing from Una in Himachal Pradesh, Kumar met with an accident at the age of eight that resulted in the loss of his right hand. He also contracted COVID-19 earlier this year while training at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru.

Nishad's was the second podium finish for India after paddler Bhavinaben Patel bagged a medal in table tennis class 4 earlier in the day. These medals made it special as India marks National Sports Day on August 29.

Kumar had won a gold medal in the men's high jump T46/47 event at the Fazza World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai earlier this year. He began competing in para-athletics in 2009.

"Absolutely delighted that Nishad Kumar wins the Silver medal in Men's High Jump T47. He is a remarkable athlete with outstanding skills and tenacity. Congratulations to him," tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The nation erupted in joy after Nishad won the medal.