Praveen Kumar is an Indian para high jumper who represented India at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and won a silver medal in the high jump sporting event, setting a new Asian record of 2.07 metres. He is the youngest Indian to win a medal in the Paralympics.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Praveen Kumar was born on Thursday, 15 May 2003 (age 18 years; as of 2021) in Jewar village in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh and brought up in Noida, India. Their zodiac sign is Taurus. Praveen Kumar was born with a congenital disability that affected the bones connecting his left leg to his hip. Praveen Kumar attended a local school in Noida, India for his primary and secondary education. Later, he joined Motilal Nehru College, Delhi to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree. Despite congenital disability, Praveen used to actively participate in various sports events held in his school.
Physical Appearance
Height: 5′ 5″
Eye colour: black
Hair Color: Black
Family
parents and siblings
Praveen Kumar belongs to a poor family from Uttar Pradesh, India. He was born to Amarpal Kumar and Nirdosh Devi. Both his parents are small-scale farmers.
Praveen Kumar’s parents
livelihood
Praveen Kumar was fond of sports since childhood. Forgetting his congenital disability, Praveen participated in many school and district level sports competitions. Initially, he started playing volleyball professionally. Praveen’s classmate Sumit while talking about his skills said,
No one is even half as good as him at volleyball. He used to jump over us while standing. There was no sport in which he was not great. Cricket, volleyball, kabaddi… he was and is the best among us.
The moment that made Praveen’s father, Amarpal Kumar, realize his son’s abilities was when Praveen participated in an open category competition at a school-level high jump competition and won a gold medal in this competition; After which, Amarpal tried his best to rope in coach Dr Satyapal Singh, a well-known name in the athletics circuit. In 2018, Praveen Kumar began professional training under the supervision of Satyapal Singh. According to Satyapal Singh, the biggest challenge as a coach was to change Praveen’s jumping style technique from the straddle technique to the Fosbury flop technique, which is mainly used by international athletes. Praveen Kumar made his international debut at the Junior Para World Championships in 2019, where he won a silver medal in the final event; In the same year, Praveen participated in the 2019 Senior Para Athletics World Championships where he finished fourth. 2021 proved to be a great year for Praveen Kumar. First, she got a chance to participate in the 2021 Para-Athletics Grand Prix competitions held in Dubai where she won the gold medal for the first time in her international career. Subsequently, Praveen represented India at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and won a silver medal in the men’s high jump T64/T44 event, setting a new Asian record of 2.07 metres. Praveen was going through a lot of pressure before the final event. Talking about his experience before setting the new Asian record, Praveen said,
My confidence had gone down a bit when I jumped 1.97m in my second attempt, but my confidence came back after I jumped 2.01m. I told myself that whether it rains or not, I will give my best.
he adds,
There was pressure in trying to jump 2.10 metres. In the last attempt, I thought of giving my best and it was a very good attempt but there were some problems in my landing and hence I could not pass it.
After winning the silver medal, Praveen Kumar received congratulatory messages from across the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Praveen Kumar on Twitter for his spectacular victory and also wished him a better future.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tweet congratulating Praveen Kumar on winning the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics
medal
Sleep
- 2021: Para-Athletics Grand Prix (Dubai)
silver
- 2019: Junior Para World Championships
- 2021: Tokyo Paralympic Games
Favorite
Facts/General Knowledge
- While applying for admission to Motilal Nehru College, affiliated to Delhi University, Praveen Kumar did not get a place in the sports trials due to congenital disability. The admission council officials advised Praveen Kumar and his coach Dr. Satyapal Singh to register him under the disabled quota to get an easier path for his admission. Dr. Satyapal Singh disagreed with this idea and made every possible effort for Praveen’s admission. Talking about this process, Satyapal said,
I called up the top officials of the university and requested that at least Praveen be allowed to participate in the trials. They reluctantly agreed.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn