Paris Paralympics: Sensational Praveen Kumar strikes gold in T64 high jump
Paris, Sep 6: India's Praveen Kumar dazzled with a record-breaking performance in the men's high jump T64 event, adding a Paralympic gold to his Tokyo Games silver here on Friday.
The 21-year-old from Noida, who was born with a short leg, smashed the Asian record with a best jump of 2.08m in the six-men field to finish on top of the podium.
USA's Derek Loccident claimed the silver with a jump of 2.06m while Uzbekistan's Temurbek Giyazov, who notched a personal best 2.03m, finished third.
India jumped to the 14th spot in the pecking order after Praveen's win.
The country has so far won six gold, nine silver and 11 bronze medals to achieve its best-ever haul at a single edition of the Paralympic Games.
India surpassed its Tokyo Games gold medal tally after Praveen's triumph in the men's high jump T64 event. At the Tokyo Paralympics, India had won five gold, six silver, and eight bronze medals.
Praveen won the country its sixth gold medal after clearing 2.08m.
Opting to start from 1.89m, Kumar aced seven jumps in his first attempt to put himself in pole position to grab the coveted gold medal.
The bar was then raised to 2.10m, with both Kumar and Loccident fighting for the top spot on the podium but failed to clear the mark.
This was also the 2023 world championship bronze medallist's personal best performance.
T64 is for athletes with movement moderately affected in one lower leg or the absence of one or both legs below the knee. While T44, under which Praveen is categorised, is for athletes with movement affected at a low or moderate degree in one lower leg.
His impairment, which is congenital, affects the bones that connect his hip to his left leg.
Kumar's odyssey toward becoming a para-athlete was marked by considerable trials. He often grappled with profound feelings of inadequacy in comparison to his peers as a child.
He started playing sports to counter these insecurities and found a passion for volleyball.
His life changed when he took part in a high jump event at an able-bodied athletics competition.
This experience exposed him to the vast opportunities available for athletes with disabilities, igniting a new and inspiring trajectory in his journey.
He is the third high jumper after Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu to secure a medal in Paris.
Sharad and Thangavelu won silver and bronze in the men's high jump T63 event on September 3.
Congratulations to Praveen Kumar for scaling new heights and winning a Gold in the Men's High Jump T64 at the #Paralympics2024!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 6, 2024
His determination and tenacity have brought glory to our nation.
India is proud of him! #Cheer4Bharat pic.twitter.com/ICR7BvhruJ
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
