Tokyo Paralympics: Nishad Kumar wins silver medal in men's high jump
Nishad Kumar won India's second medal at the Tokyo Paralympics on Sunday, securing a silver in the men's high jump T47 event. Nishad, with the highest jump of 2.06m, stood second in the event behind USA's Roderick Townsend.
The 2.06m attempt from Nishad was also an Asian record.
Gold medallist Townsend broke his own world record (2.14m) in the event, successfully jumping the 2.15m mark.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to congratulate Nishad on the phenomenal achievement. "More joyful news comes from Tokyo! Absolutely delighted that Nishad Kumar wins the Silver medal in Men’s High Jump T47. He is a remarkable athlete with outstanding skills and tenacity. Congratulations to him," wrote the PM.
The other Indian in the event, Ram Pal, with a final successful attempt of 1.94m (also his personal best), finished fifth in the standings.
This was India's third medal in the high jump event at the Paralympics. Earlier, Girisha Nagarajegowda (London 2012, Silver) and Mariyappan Thangavelu (Rio 2016, Gold) brought India glory in the event.
The T-47 is a disability sport classification in athletics primarily for competitors with a below elbow or wrist amputation
With the second silver, India have jumped to 45th position in the medal tally.
Earlier on the day, table tennis player Bhavinaben Patel won the silver medal to open India's medal account at the Tokyo Paralympics.
