2021 Paralympics: 5 things to know about high jump silver medalist Nishad Kumar

Nishad Kumar matched his personal best of 2.06m to win silver in high jump
Nishad Kumar matched his personal best of 2.06m to win silver in high jump

High jumper Nishad Kumar clinched India's second silver medal at the 2021 edition of the Paralympics in the men's high jump T46-47 event. Kumar matched his personal best of 2.06m to win the medal.

On its most fruitful day at the Tokyo Games, thus far, India picked up two silver and a bronze on Sunday.

Paddler Bhavina Patel added a silver, while veteran discus thrower Vinod Kumar bagged bronze in the F52 classification on the fifth day of the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.

Nishad Kumar's compatriot Ram Pal Chahar also posted a personal best to finish 5th in the men's high jump T46-47 event. Chahar was 6th at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

5 things to know about Nishad Kumar

#5 He has been competing in para-athletics since 2009:

The 22-year-old from Una in Himachal Pradesh has endured many setbacks in his quest for sporting success. Nishad Kumar has been competing in para-athletics ever since he was eight years old.

At a young age when an incident takes away a child's normalcy, that's when most of the individuals divert from their paths but Nishad instead was rigid about pursuing sports. He decided to pursue para-sports when he was just ten.

#4 Nishad lost his right hand in a farm accident:

Nishad was just eight when he lost his right hand in a farm-related accident. Two years later he knew he wanted to pursue sports at the age of ten. Today, in 2021, he must be thinking about how apt that decision was. Nishad brought a silver medal glory for India.

#3 Education is very important to Nishad:

Nishad is pursuing a degree in physical education from Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab. LPU has sent several athletes to compete in the Tokyo Olympics as well as Paralympics. Among them is Olympic javelin champion Neeraj Chopra.

Nishad is the recipient of a full-ride scholarship. Along with his achievements in the sporting world, he is also good with his academics. Not only is he making the entire country proud, but also his university.

#2 Nishad Kumar's ranking and COVID-19 recovery:

Nishad Kumar is currently ranked No.3 in the world and will be hoping to continue his exploits in para-sports across the globe. Soon after setting the Asian record earlier in the year, he had some sad news. He tested positive for COVID-19. He was quarantined for seven days.

After recovering from COVID-19, he went straight back to training and delivered two personal best performances, while securing his place in the Indian Paralympic contingent with a jump of 2.07m.

#1 Nishad Kumar set Asian record earlier in the year

Nishad set an Asian record at the 12th Fazza Championships World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai in 2021. His 2.06m jump earned him a gold medal in the T47 category. He was also a bronze medalist at the 2019 World Championships held in Dubai.

Also read: India at Paralympics 2021: Bhavina loses to Zhou Ying in final, settles for silver

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Edited by Rohit Mishra