Mariyappan Thangavelu, whose right leg was crushed by a bus on his walk to school as a child, is set to collect almost $150,000 for securing his country’s third gold medal in Paralympics history, and the first since 2004.
“I am so proud of him. He is actually extremely poor and financially this will change his life forever,” bronze medallist and teammate Bhati Varun Singh said.
In India, Paralympic athletes receive the same gold-medal cash bonus as Olympians.
Mariyappan Thangavelu cleared 1.89m to win gold.
The jackpot shapes as a life-changer for Thangavelu and his family.
The 21-year-old grew up in extreme poverty in a rural village in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
The house he shared with his mother and two siblings was smaller than his room in the Rio Athletes Village.
“The house is about five times, five metres and on the same small space they cook and take baths,” Thangavelu’s coach Satyanarayana said.
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| Thangavelu, who stands 168cm tall, won the T42 final with a jump of 1.89m. |
Until last year, Thangavelu and his family lived on barely $2 a day, earnt by his mother selling fruit and flowers in their village.
“The first thing that he will do is to buy his mother a small house. Then he will take care of the other things,” Satyanarayana said.
“If you get the medal in India, your life is done. There’s nowhere in the world you get such rewards. You get money, millions, you cannot believe it. Your life changes in one day.”
Thangavelu is expecting to target the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, after which he will have his damaged foot amputated.
“Then he will be 25, so it will be time to get married,” Satyanarayana said.
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