Praveen Kumar wins silver medal in high jump at Tokyo Paralympics 2020

Tokyo Paralympics 2020: Indian para athlete Praveen Kumar (Sport Class T44) on Friday won silver medal in men's High Jump (T64) category.

Praveen Kumar registered scores of 1.88m, 1.93m and 2.01m before creating the Asian Record as he leapt the mark of 2.07m in the finals.

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Praveen cleared his first mark of 1.88m on his first attempt and was tied at the top after his opening jump before Jonathan Broom-Edwards of Great Britain toppled him.

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The Indian athlete then cleared the 1.93m mark in his next attempt to occupy the third spot. In subsequent attempts, Praveen cleared the 2.01m mark and continued his fine form to further surpass the 2.04 mark. Riding high on confidence, the Indian athlete then created the Asian Record.

"Proud of Praveen Kumar for winning the Silver medal at the Paralympics. This medal is the result of his hard work and unparalleled dedication. Congratulations to him. Best wishes for his future endeavours," tweeted PM Narendra Modi.

Earlier this week, Mariyappan Thangavelu and Sharad Kumar won silver and bronze respectively in the men's high jump final in Sport Class T42.

Mariyappan Thangavelu clinched silver after leaping the mark of 1.86m -- his second medal at the Games, having already won a gold in Rio 2016.