Day two of the Rio Paralympics Games saw India win it’s first two medals when favourites Mariyappan Thangavelu and Varun Singh Bhati lived up to the expectations to grab the gold and the bronze medals in the Men’s High Jump T42 Finals at the Olympic Stadium in Rio De Janeiro. However, Sharad Kumar could not finish on the podium along with his fellow Indian high jumpers.
The event saw India’s trio up against nine other high jumpers from around the world. Kumar was the first Indian who started the event as he was successful in his third and fourth attempts in clearing a height of 1.55 and 1.60 metres respectively. The Indian saw himself at the first spot in the rankings for the intial part of the event. While, world number one, Mariyappan also started off well as he cleared the height of 1.60 metres in his fourth attempt, sitting tied at the first spot along with Kumar and two other jumpers. However, world number two, Bhati seemed to be struggling at the start as he could not be successful in his first four attempts.
Sharad Kumar was displaced at the top by Egypt’s Hamada Hassan who cleared 1.65 metres in his first attempt but the Indian was quick to climb up again by clearing 1.65 metres in his fifth attempt. It was Bhati’s turn to shine as he finally managed to clear the 1.65 mark on his fifth attempt which saw him tied at the first spot with Kumar and three other jumpers.
The event saw all the athletes going head to head as nine of the total 12 jumpers had cleared the height of 1.65 metres after their respective first five attempts which also included India’s Mariyappan. The 22-year old Bhati then went on to be successful in his sixth attempt as well as he cleared a height of 1.68 metres making him one of only three athletes to do so. However, Kumar could not continue his fine form and failed to clear his sixth attempt which saw him drop to tied 7th in the standings.
24-year old Kumar did not want to stay behind as he achieved a height of 1.71 metres in his seventh attempt which was also matched by 22-year old Bhati as the duo looked to finish the event well. The latter continued to perform well as he cleared the 1.74 metres mark successfully in his eighth attempt, however the former could not keep his run going as he failed in his eighth attempt. It was Mariyappan who was also up to the task as the 21-year old also cleared the 1.74 metres mark successfully in his eight attempt.
Competition for the podium looked to be hotting up as six athletes out of the total 12 had cleared the 1.74 metres mark in their first eight attempts. There were two Indian athletes inside the first six jumpers which meant that the Indian fans could finally see themselves being graced by the first gold medal at the Rio Paralympic Games, and that is exactly what was in store.
The world number two Bhati took the lead by successfully lifting himself over a height of 1.77 metres which saw him top the rankings after his ninth attempt. However, India’s other two medal prospects in Mariyappan and Kumar, both failed to clear the 1.77 metres mark as the former ended up tied at 3rd place after clearing 1.74 metres and the latter could only clear 1.71 metres. USA’s Sam Grewe was the only jumper who could match Bhati’s reach of 1.77 metres after the nine attempts.
In the 10th attempt, Mariyappan did not disappoint as he cleared the 1.77 metres mark successfully, along with three other athletes – Poland’s Lukasz Mamczarz, China’s Zhiqiang Zhing and India’s Kumar.
However, it was world number one Mariyappan who ended up being the only high jumper to clear the next 1.80 metres mark after the tenth attempt. putting him in prime position to land the gold medal at the Rio Paralympic Games. In a positive turn of events for the nation, Bhati also managed to clear the 1.80 metres mark which saw both the first and second spot being occupied by the Indians. But USA’s Grewe would not give up on the gold medal so easily and ended up clearing the mark as well.
But Varun Bhati had promised he would go for nothing less than the gold medal at the Games and he put a step closer to the gold as he cleared the 1.83 metres mark along with another Indian in Mariyappan while Kumar failed to improve on his previous height. However, when it all looked like that the top two medal would go in India’s favour, the American cleared a height of 1.86 metres to grab the top spot but the Indians also equalled the height to make it even.
In what was a nail-biting climax to the event, it was eventually the Mariyappan who grabbed the top honours in Brazil by finishing with a reach of 1.89 metres as opposed to Sam Grewe’s and Varun Bhati’s reach of 1.86 metres. Here is the list of the winners:
GOLD MEDAL – Mariyappan Thangavelu (India) – 1.89 metres
SILVER MEDAL – Sam Grewe (USA) – 1.86 metres
BRONZE MEDAL – Varun Singh Bhati (India) – 1.86 metres
