Sharad Kumar cleared 1.83m to win bronze in the F42 category of the Men’s High Jump event at the Tokyo Paralympics on Tuesday. Sharad began at 1.73 meters and cleared 1.77 meters. He missed to clear 1.86m in his final attempt, therefore his best attempt of 1.83m was good enough for bronze.
More About Sharad Kumar
Sharad Kumar, 29, of Motipur, Bihar, competes in the men’s high jump event in the F42 category. Nikitin Yevhen and Shallaz Kumar, the world No. 2’s personal coaches, are based in Ukraine. He had won silver medals at the World Para Athletics Championships in 2017 and 2019 . Also He is a two-time Asian Para Games gold medalist (2014, 2018). He got his first gold coming at the Malaysian Open Para Athletics Championship in 2012.
Sharad Kumar was diagnosed with polio when he was two years old. His parents rushed him to hospitals in Chennai, Kolkata, and Patna in the hopes of curing him. They even took him to temples in the hopes of finding a cure. In the end, they started treating him with daily bodily workouts. When he became severely ill, they even conducted several poojas in faith for his survival.
Surendra Kumar, Sharad’s father, wanted to nurture his son like a normal child. He enrolled him in a boarding school when he was four years old. Sharad was the only student at school who was not allowed to engage in athletics and was relegated to the bench. While he first complied with the teachers’ wishes, he later decided to compete in high jump regardless.
Sharad Kumar’s passion in high jump stemmed from observing his older brother, who was a school record holder. Because he wanted to beat his brother’s school record, he took it more seriously.
Full Coverage Of The Event
Sharad Kumar stated on the eve of the Tokyo Paralympics that he was suffering an injury after winning a bronze medal in the men’s high jump. On Tuesday, Mariyappan Thangavelu and Sharad Kumar earned silver and bronze in the men’s high jump final in Tokyo’s National Stadium. “It was terrible for me; I cried the entire night. The fact that I dislocated my meniscus as a result of landing on it. “
“I’m in terrific shape after an injury last night that made every leap feel like a battle. I cried last night, and I cried, and I cried, and I sobbed, and I cried, and I cried, and I Last night, I finished reading the Bhagavad Gita. We have no control over such things, and that is how I found myself in the ring today.
“Winning a medal is great, but as I walked into the arena today, I thanked God for allowing me to compete in such a large event,” Sharad Kumar continued.
Sharad Kumar commented on the rainy weather during the event, saying: “It was really perilous for us competitors to compete in the high jump while it was raining. But the fact that we were able to achieve it was impressive; all we had to do was stick to our game plan. It was a risky situation. I tried to talk to the officials and tell them that we might have to call it in, but it simply continued.”
