Tokyo, Sep 03: India’s Praveen Kumar wins silver medal in men’s high jump T64 event of Tokyo Paralympics with Asian record.
#TokyoParalympics, Men's High Jump (T64): Praveen Kumar (Sport Class T44) wins silver medal pic.twitter.com/PqAEmctnpo
— ANI (@ANI) September 3, 2021
The 18-year-old Kumar, competing in his debut Paralympics, set a new Asian record with a 2.07m jump to finish behind Great Britain’s Jonathan Broom-Edwards, who notched up his season’s best of 2.10m for the gold. The bronze went to Rio Games champion Maciej Lepiato of Poland who produced an effort of 2.04m.
T64 classification is for athletes with a leg amputation, who compete with prosthetics in a standing position. T44, the disability classification that Kumar has but is eligible to compete in T64, is for athletes with a leg deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement in the legs. His impairment, which is congenital, affects the bones that connect his hip to his left leg. The ongoing Paralympic Games are turning out to be India’s best ever and the nation has so far claimed two gold, six silver and three bronze medals.