Biography

Praveen Kumar is an Indian Para High Jumper who, after winning a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 has become the youngest Indian to win a medal in the Paralympics.Praveen was born with congenital disability congenital i.e. difference in length, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement in the legs. Despite being physically disabled, Praveen never stayed away from sports. He participated in various school level and district level volleyball tournaments. Talking about Praveens volleyball skills, one of his classmates said, No one is even half as good as him in volleyball. Khade khade humare upar se kood jata tha (He would leap over us with ease). There wasnt a sport that he wasnt great at. Cricket, volleyball, kabaddi He was and is the best among us..Later, Praveen got to know about the Paralympic sports event, he decided to pursue a career in high jump event. While talking about the initial days, Praveen mentioned using google to practising the sport. He said, I would watch videos of the high jump on Google and try and learn from it. There was nobody to teach me. Later, during a district-level meeting, I was told about coach Dr Satyapal and met him and he agreed to train me..Praveen marked his international debut by winning a silver medal at the 2019 Junior Para World Championship. Next, he participated in the Senior Para Athletics World Championships 2019 and ended up securing the fourth position in the tournament.In 2021, Praveen Kumar participated in the World Para Athletics FAZZA Grand Prix 2021, Dubai and ended up winning a gold medal at the event setting a new Asian record at the final event.Praveen Kumar marked his paralympic debut by winning a silver medal in the mens high jump T64/T44 event and also set a new Asian record with a 2.07m jump at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. While talking about his pre-match situation, he narrated, I was a bit low in confidence when I cleared 1.97m in my second attempt but I regained confidence after jumping 2.01m. I told myself I will give my best whatever it takes, whether rain or not..Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Praveen Kumar on his victory at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games by posting a tweet from his Twitter account applauding him for his hard work. Prime Minister Narendra Modis tweet congratulating Praveen Kumar on winning a Bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.