However, India got an additional quota and Praveen secured a last-minute entry into the Paris-bound contingent. “Praveen was destined to come here and create history. How could anyone stop it,” said Satya Prakash Sangwan, the Chef de Mission.
On Friday, Praveen not only won the gold medal in the men’s high jump T64, he did it with an Asian record jump of 2.08m.
Though not many had given him a chance, Praveen never lost self-belief. “I was confident if I played to potential, things could happen. I wasn’t focussed on the result. I just wanted to do my best and leave the rest to fate. If you think of medals and the result, you tend to put pressure on yourself. I was not thinking too far ahead and just focussed on one jump at a time,” said the 21-year-old from Noida, who was born with a short leg due to a congenital impairment that affects the bones connecting his hip to his left leg.
It was a thrilling contest between Praveen and Derek Loccident of the US — they were tied at 2.06m. With the bar set at 2.08m, Praveen had to do something he had never done to inch ahead of his opponent. His personal best was 2.07m and he needed to better that. And he did it on his very first attempt and gave India its sixth gold to cross the Tokyo gold medal count (5).
“Praveen’s story is very interesting. He loves to climb trees and that’s where his interest in high jump stems from. He can climb a tree in no time. He also loves to play volleyball, which is almost an obsession,” said Devendra Jhajharia, president of the Paralympics Committee of India (PCI) before adding, “I have to admit he has exceeded our expectations”.Indian athletics team’s head coach, Satyanarayana Shimoga, admired Praveen’s ability to perform at the big stage. “The best thing about Praveen is his consistency at the big events. That shows he can perform under pressure. When it is about one jump, it is more in the mind than anything else. We got him here knowing that despite not doing well in the trials, he has the ability to do well at the Paralympics.”Praveen’s coach Satpal also echoed similar sentiments. “He is a very focussed athlete. He stayed in the zone and just did what was asked of him,” he said. He is the third high jumper after Sharad Kumar (silver in T63 category) and Mariyappan Thangavelu (bronze, T63) to secure a medal in Paris.
“To win gold here after winning the gold at the Para Asian Games completed the circle for me. When you win the 26th medal and help your team cross the 25 mark, it makes it more special. It meant the faith that was reposed in me was fair and I did not come here without a reason. I deserved to be here and make a difference for my country,” Praveen said.
