Tokyo Paralympics: Mariyappan's silver medal is historic in so many ways, says Anurag Thakur

Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, on Tuesday congratulated Mariyappan Thangavelu for winning a silver medal in the men's high-jump event at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics.

"Mariyappan wins SILVER for India !!! This is his 2nd consecutive #Paralympics medal, historic in so many ways! Well Played Champion! @189thangavelu," tweeted Thakur.

Mariyappan Thangavelu and Sharad Kumar won silver and bronze respectively in the men's high jump final at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Tuesday. They were both Sport Class T42.

Mariyappan Thangavelu clinched silver after leaping the mark of 1.86m. This is his second medal at the Games, having already won a gold in Rio 2016. Meanwhile, Sharad Kumar grabbed bronze after scaling his season-best mark of 1.83m.

The Rio 2016 silver medalist, United States of America's Sam Grewe clinched gold after successfully jumping the 1.88m mark in his third attempt. Another Indian and Rio 2016 bronze medalist Varun Singh Bhati finished seventh with a season-best of 1.77m.

Amid the heavy downpour in Tokyo, the Indian trio passed on the first five jumps as Varun Singh Bhati started the proceedings on the 6th by successfully jumping the 1.69m mark. Soon, Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu got in the mix from the next jump by scaling the 1.73m.

Varun Bhati escaped an early heartbreak as after two failed attempts, he eventually went clear in his third at 1.73m. When the bar was raised again at 1.77m, Bhati cleared it with ease in the first attempt before eventually failing at 1.80m.

( With inputs from ANI )

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