Grappling with injury 3 months back, high jumper Praveen is now a record breaker

Just three months before the Paralympic Games, high jumper Praveen Kumar was grappling with a groin injury during the World Championships, which stopped him from going all out for gold but he still managed a third-place finish — and the big ticket to Paris.

Not knowing what the future had in store for him, he gave it his best shot in the limited time he had to overcome the injury.

He was helped in his endeavour by a positive mindset and the wholehearted support of his coach Satyapal Singh, who asked him to immediately go for an MRI to nail the problem.

Thanks to the efforts of his coach and his never-say-die attitude, Praveen was up and running within 15 days and preparing in earnest for the Paralympics.

On Friday, the 21-year-old from Noida, born with a short leg, gave a dazzling performance by smashing the Paralympics record with a best jump of 2.08m in the T64 category to finish on top of the podium.

Praveen acknowledged the help rendered by his coach after winning gold.

“I want to give credit for my success to my coach Satyapal sir, my sponsors and my physio. When I got injured three month back, they supported me wholeheartedly. I had a groin problem and I want to thank all of them for their support.

“During the World Championships in June, I had an injury. I wasn’t able to exert myself much. So, I spoke to my coach and he got an MRI done. The priority was to heal the injury as quickly as possible and we achieved it in 15 days,” added Praveen, who hails from Govindgarh village in Gautam Budh Nagar in UP and had won silver at the Tokyo Games three years back.