Tokyo Paralympics: Proud of myself as my journey till here was very difficult, says Nishad Kumar

Tokyo Paralympics silver medallist Nishad Kumar on Tuesday said that he is really proud of his achievement as his journey to the top has been very difficult.

"I want to thank everyone for their support, this medal holds a lot of importance for me. It was my dream to win the medal in the Paralympics. I belong to Una district in Himachal Pradesh where the scope of the game is very less. I feel proud of myself as my journey till here was very difficult," Nishad told ANI.

"I got full support from the government. SAI & TOPS helped me in everything including equipment, diet & training. I want to tell youngsters that fix your target & give your 100 per cent to achieve that," he added.

Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, on Tuesday, felicitated Tokyo Paralympics silver medallist Nishad Kumar.

Nishad arrived in Delhi on Tuesday. MoS Shri Nisith Pramanik also graced the event. Nishad, who hails from Himachal Pradesh, won the silver with a jump of 2.06m in the Men's High Jump T47 category at the Tokyo Paralympics.

At the Paralympic Games, Nishad equaled the Asian record set by him earlier this year with the 2.06m jump. He has been training at the national camp in SAI Bengaluru under the guidance of coach Satyanarayana. The Government of India duly supported Nishad ahead of the Games in terms of facilitating foreign exposure trips and over four international competitions to the tune of Rs 10.50 lakh from the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) and Rs 10.21 lakh from the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC).

Nishad has had a roller-coaster of a calendar year. He tested positive for Covid-19 twice but he continued improving and set two Personal Bests in 2021. He jumped 2.07m at the Para Athletics Selection Trials held in Delhi in June, and this helped him secure a spot in the Indian team for the Tokyo Paralympics. He won a gold medal in the High Jump T47 category at the Fazza Para Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai right before the pandemic in Dubai and repeated the feat at the same competition by winning the elusive gold, also in 2021.

( With inputs from ANI )

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