Mariayappan Thangavelu on Tuesday rued that rain foiled his bid for a second consecutive gold medal on the Paralympics, saying the moist sock didn’t let him give his finest within the T42 occasion.
After clearing 1.86m, Mariyappan and Sam Grewe twice struggled to clear 1.88m peak however the American lastly bagged gold medal by hovering over the mark within the ultimate try whereas the Indian couldn’t and settled for silver.
Mariayappan, who hails from Periavadagampatti village in Salem district of Tamil Nadu, had cleared 1.89m when he received the gold in 2016 Rio Paralympics.
He stated he couldn’t obtain the goal he had set for himself.
“I could have won gold and claimed the world record (1.96m). I came here with that aim. But the rain played spoilsport. It was a drizzle initially but after the 1.80m mark, it became heavy,” Mariyappan stated after his occasion.
“The sock on my other leg (the impaired right leg) got wet and it was difficult to jump,” stated the athlete who suffered everlasting incapacity in his proper leg after it was crushed underneath a bus when he was solely 5.
Mariyappan, who labored as newspaper hawker between 2012 and 2015 to assist his mom Saroja, stated the climate in Rio in 2016 was nice and just like India however it was not so in Tokyo.
“I could not execute my plan here. I could have cleared 1.90m had it not been the weather conditions. I will try for gold and world record in Paris 2024,” he stated.
His coach Satyanarayana, who noticed him in 2015 and moulded him as a Paralympics champion, stated Mariyappan was clearing 1.90m simply throughout coaching and even touched 1.99m in Para Nationals.
“Weather was the reason why he failed in clearing 1.88m. It is three years from now (for 2024 Paris Olympics). He will win gold there,” stated Satyanarayana, who can be nationwide Para Athletics chairman and nationwide coach.
A prime of the rostrum end would have made Mariyappan the primary Indian to win back-to-back gold medals in Paralympics.
Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia, who clinched a silver in F46 occasion, had received two gold medals however there was an interval of 12 yr.
Mariyappan additionally stated that he was affected mentally when he had to surrender the position of Indian contingent’s flag bearer through the opening ceremony. He was recognized as a detailed contact of a participant of one other nation through the flight to Tokyo and was remoted.
“Yes, it was very upsetting that I could not become the flag bearer. Moreover, I had to get isolated and also train alone because of quarantine rules,” he stated.