Olympic Gold medalist, Indian Paralympics high jumper, sportsperson
Who is Mariyappan Thangavelu?
Mariyappan Thangavelu is a Paralympics champion in the category of men’s high jump. At Rio 2016, in the men’s high jump T42, he won the Paralympic gold medal. At his young age, when he was going to school he got hit by a bus driver his right leg become stunted.
Early Life:
Mariyappan Thangavelu was born in Periavadagampatti village which is in Salem District of Tamilnadu. His parents have 6 children and he is one among them. He has four brothers and a sister. His father left the family when they were children. His mother single handily raised them. She used to carry bricks for livelihood until she becomes a vegetable seller. His mother earned Rs 100 per day.
Mariyappan Thangavelu and disability:
At the age of 5 when Mariyappan walking to school, he ran over by a bus with a drunken bus driver on his leg. So he lost his leg below the knee. And he becomes stunted. Despite everything, he used to see himself the same as the able kids. He completed his secondary schooling.
Personal life:
In 2015, Mariyappan has completed his bachelor’s degree in business administration from AVS College of Arts and Science. Further, he wishes to finish his MBA from the same institution. In an interview, he shares that now the neighbors and the surrounding people have recognizing him with great respect. He is feeling great about his athletic career. His idol and role model is an actor from Tamil cinema called Rajnikanth.
Mariyappan Thangavelu and High jump:
As a student, Mariyappan Thangavelu loves to play Volleyball. Regarding high jump, he got his boost from his educational instructor. An incident gave him good encouragement that is winning second place in the competitive event at the age of 14 among the normal kids. This event got great support from others in the Salem district. At the Indian national Para-athletics championships held at 2013 supported by the Sports academy of India for differently-abled, Mr.Satyanarayana his current coach first observed him.
Then he formally took him as his student in the year 2015. Then he brought him to Bengaluru for further coaching. Mariyappan Thangavelu has cleared a distance of 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) in the men’s high jump T–42 event at the IPC Grand Prix in Tunisia in March 2016. This paved him the way for him to qualify for the Rio Paralympics. Next in the Rio Paralympics, he won the gold medal in the men’s high jump T–42 event, with a leap of 1.89 m that is 6 ft 2 in. Followed by that in November 2019 he managed to clear a distance of 1.80 m that is 5 ft 11 inch in the Men’s High Jump T-63 event at 2019 World Para Athletics Championships. So he bagged the bronze medal behind fellow Indian Sharad Kumar. Mariyappan Thangavelu’s motto and sporting philosophy are “Try and try again, you will succeed in the end”.
Mariyappan Thangavelu and the controversy:
A petition was filed in the name of Mariyappan Thangavelu by the mother of a son. His son was found dead near the railway station after a fight with Mariyappan. This incident happened when Sathish kumar hits Mariyappan’s two wheeler. So Mariyappan along with his friend Sabari and Yuvaraj has beaten up Sathish kumar. They also snatched the mobile phone from Sathish kumar. And to get his phone he ran before them. The next morning, he was found dead near the railway station.
Mariyappan Thangavelu and the prize money:
Once he wins the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics he was honored through various firms. Some of them are listed below.
- 5 lakh (US$7,000) from NRI businessman Mukkattu Sebastian
- 10 lakh (US$14,000) from the Delhi Golf Club
- 10 lakh (US$14,000) from Yash Raj Films
- 15 lakh (US$21,000) from fund established by Sachin Tendulkar
- 30 lakh (US$42,000) from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
- 50 lakh (US$70,000) from the Government of Madhya Pradesh
- 75 lakh (US$110,000) from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
- 2 crores (US$280,000) from the Government of Tamil Nadu
Although he got a quite sum of money, he feels that he is currently living off his price money. So he needs a stable job to support his family. With the price money, he bought a paddy field for his mom. Also, he built a nice home for his family. He deposited his remaining in a bank amount. In an interview, he told that he petitioned the Government of Tamilnadu about his job and he didn’t receive any reply from the government.
Achievements and Awards:
- On July 03, 2017, he got the Padma Shri award which is India’s fourth highest national honor.
- Later in the same year, he got the Arjuna award for Para-Athletics.
- Aishwaryaa Dhanush a south Indian film director is reportedly making a film named “Mariyappan” about Thangavelu’s life.
- Once he got a medal, in the high jump T42 gold medal in Rio, Mariyappan Thangavelu has got lot prize. And one among them was the fund set up by the legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
- He is the first Paralympian from India to win the gold medal in the men’s high jump T-42 category since 2004.
- In October 2018, he got the chance to become the flag bearer for the 2018 Asian Para Games held in Jakarta.
- Then in December 2018, he got the offer to be the Group A coach in the Sports Authority of India.
- When he won the gold medal in the Rio summer Olympics, the Jayalalitha government has awarded him 2 Crores and the sports ministry has awarded him 75 lakhs.