As 23-year-old Nishad Kumar, who had lost his right hand in a fodder-cutting machine at the age of six, on Sunday won the silver medal in men’s T-47 high jump event at the Tokyo Paralympics. He jumped 2.02m in his first attempt in the medal round before reaching 2.06m in his third attempt.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called Kumar up to congratulate him for winning a silver medal in the high jump event at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics. “PM Shri @narendramodi called @nishad_hj and congratulated him on winning the Silver medal. Nishad thanked PM Modi and also appreciated the continuous encouragement the PM gives to para-athletes,” tweeted SAI Media.
Kumar clinched the silver at the high jump event, creating a new Asian record of 2.06m and marking the second silver for India. The US’ Roderick Townsend won gold while Dallas Wise shared the second spot with Nishad. Townsend made the jump of 2.15m while Wise recorded a jump of 2.06 m. Nishad and Wise both finished on the same mark, but Nishad had crossed the 2.02 mark in his first attempt while Wise took two.
President Ram Nath Kovind too congratulated the para-athlete. “Congratulations to Nishad Kumar for winning the silver medal in men’s high jump at Tokyo Paralympics. You have proved your excellence on the global stage, thereby bringing glory to India. My heartiest congratulations to you on your superlative performance and success,” tweeted the official account of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also greetings to Kumar for his “stellar performance” and said, “Another #Silver for India on National Sports Day. Congratulations to Nishad Kumar for the stellar performance. You’ve done our country proud.”
As per media reports, Nishad Kumar grew up seeing his father, who owned less than an acre of farmland, doing masonry work to support the family. He was six when his right hand went into the fodder-cutting machine while helping his mother at home. He was taken to a hospital in nearby Hoshiarpur in Punjab, but the hand had to be amputated.
From there to winning silver for the country, Nishad Kumar has made a long, arduous and momentous journey.