Mariyappan Thangavelu is an Indian Paralympic high jumper. He represented India in the 2016 Summer Paralympic games held in Rio de Janeiro in the men's high jump T-42 category, winning the gold medal in the finals. He is India's first Paralympian gold medalist since 2004. On 25 January 2017, Government of India announced "Padma Shri" award for his contribution towards sports and in the same year he was also awarded Arjuna Award.
Early life
Mariyappan was born in Periavadagampatti village, Salem district, Tamil Nadu, one of six children. His father reportedly abandoned the family early on, and his mother, Saroja, raised her children as a single mother, carrying bricks as a labourer until becoming a vegetable seller, earning a day. At the age of five, Mariyappan suffered permanent disability in his right leg when he was run over by a drunk bus driver while walking to school; the bus crushed his leg below the knee, causing it to become stunted. Despite this setback, he completed secondary schooling; he says he "didn't see myself as different from able-bodied kids."
Athletic career
Mariyappan enjoyed playing volleyball as a student; subsequently, his school physical education instructor encouraged him to try high jumping. In his first competitive event, aged 14, he placed second among a field of able-bodied competitors, after which he received strong encouragement from his classmates and others in Salem district. In 2013, his current coach Mr.Satyanarayana, supported by the Sports academy of India for differently-abled, first noticed his performance at the Indian national para-athletics championships, and formally took him on as a student in 2015, bringing him to Bengaluru for further coaching. In March 2016, Mariyappan cleared a distance of in the men's high jump T–42 event at the IPC Grand Prix in Tunisia, qualifying him for the Rio Paralympics. At the Rio Paralympics, he won the gold medal in the men's high jump T–42 event, with a leap of. In November 2019, he cleared a distance of in the Men's High Jump T-63 event at 2019 World Para Athletics Championshipsto bag the Bronze medal, behind fellow Indian Sharad Kumar.
Personal life
Mariyappan has an elder sister Sudha and two younger brothers Kumar and Gopi. In 2015, he completed a bachelor's degree in business administration from AVS College of Arts and Science. He plans to complete an MBA from the same institution. Following his Paralympic triumph, Mariyappan used some of his prize money to buy his mother a paddy field, so his family could enjoy a more stable source of income, and also used his winnings to build a better house for his family, depositing the remaining sums in an account. In August 2017, Mariyappan said that while it was "a good feeling" to be recognised and to have his neighbours treat him with great respect, he felt "a slight sadness" that even his friends now treated him with increased formality, which irritated him. In a separate interview that month, he said that though he remained committed to an athletic career, he had been living off his prize money, and was in desperate need of a steady job to support his family. He said he had requested help from the Tamil Nadu government, but had not received a reply. In October 2018, he was named as the flag bearer for the 2018 Asian Para Games held in Jakarta that month. On 7 December, he was offered a Group A post as a coach with the Sports Authority of India. A petition to implead T Mariappan, recipient of gold medal in Para-Olympics competitions held recently, in a youth’s death case, has been filed in the Madras High Court. According to the petitioner, her son Sathish Kumar faced the wrath of Mariappan for dashing his two-wheeler against the latter’s new Mahindra car on 3 June last. He was beaten up by Mariappan and his friends Sabari and Yuvaraj. When they snatched his mobile phone, Sathish Kumar ran behind them to get it back. Since then he was missing. However, he was found dead near the railway track the next day. She lodged a complaint with local police on the death of her son and also sought protection. As there was no effective action, she filed the present petition.
