Mariyappan Thangavelu is an Indian paralympic high jumper who represented India in 2016 Summer Para Olympics.

Early Life of Mariyappan Thangavelu
Mariyappan Thangavelu was born on 28th June in the year 1995. He is an Indian paralympic high jumper.

Education of Mariyappan Thangavelu
In 2015, Mariyappan Thangavelu completed a bachelor's degree in business administration from AVS College of Arts and Science. He plans to complete an MBA from the same institution.

Early Career of Mariyappan Thangavelu
Mariyappan Thangavelu enjoyed playing volleyball as a student; subsequently, his school P.E. instructor encouraged him to try high jumping. In his first competitive event, aged 14, he placed second amongst a field of able-bodied competitors, after which he received strong encouragement from his classmates and others in Salem district. In 2013, his current coach, Satyanarayana, first noticed his performance at the Indian national para-athletics championships, and formally took him on as a student in 2015, bringing him to Bengaluru for further coaching.

National Career of Mariyappan Thangavelu
In March 2016, Mariyappan Thangavelu cleared a distance of 1.78m in the men's high jump T42 event at the IPC Grand Prix in Tunisia, qualifying him for the Rio Paralympics. At the Rio Paralympics, he won the gold medal in the men's high jump T42 finals, with a leap of 1.89 m.

International Career of Mariyappan Thangavelu
Mariyappan Thangavelu represented India in the 2016 Summer Paralympic games held in Rio de Janeiro in the men's high jump T-42 category winning the gold medal in the finals. He is India's first Paralympian gold medalist since 2004. Mariyappan Thangavelu received two crore prize money from the Government of Tamil Nadu. He donated 30lakhs to the Government school of Tamil Nadu where he studied. He donated the money to improve sports and education facilities.

Personal Life of Mariyappan Thangavelu
Mariyappan Thangavelu was born in Periavadagampatti village of Salem district, Tamil Nadu, one of five children. His father reportedly abandoned the family early on, and his mother, Saroja, raised her children as a single mother, carrying bricks as a labourer. He has an elder sister, Sudha, and two younger brothers, Kumar and Gopi. At the age of five, Mariyappan Thangavelu suffered permanent disability in his right leg when he was run over by a drunken bus driver while walking to school; the bus crushed his leg below the knee, causing the severe permanent injury.

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