Sharad Kumar (athlete)

Sharad Kumar (born 1 March 1992) is an Indian para high jumper and a former world no. 1. He qualified to represent India at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris.^[5]

Sharad Kumar

Kumar at the 2014 Asian Para Games
Personal information
National team	India
Born	(1992-03-01) 1 March 1992 (age 32)[1] Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India[2]
Education	Political Science International Relations[2]
Alma mater	St. Paul's School Modern School Kirori Mal College Jawaharlal Nehru University[2]
Occupation	Athlete /Coach (Sports Authority of India )
Years active	2010–present
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Weight	58 kg (128 lb)[2]
Sport
Sport	High Jump
Disability	Impaired muscle power
Disability class	T42
Rank	1[3] (as of September 2018)
Tokyo Paralympics 2020	High Jump T42
Achievements and titles
Paralympic finals	3rd
Highest world ranking	1[4]
Medal record Track and field (para high jump) Representing  India Men's athletics Paralympic Games 2024 Paris High Jump T63 2020 Tokyo High Jump T63 Asian Para Games 2014 Incheon F42 2018 Jakarta T42/63 IPC World Championships 2017 London T42

Kumar represented India at the 2016 Summer Paralympics and finished sixth. He won Silver in 2017 World ParaAthletics Championships.

He then went on to represent India in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics where he won bronze medal. He also represented India in the 2024 Paris Paralympics where he won a silver medal.

Early life and background

Sharad Kumar was born on 1 March 1992 in motipur Muzaffarpur, Bihar.^[1][2] At the age of two, he suffered paralysis of his left leg after taking spurious polio medicine at a local eradication drive.^[2][6] Sharad studied at St. Paul's School (Darjeeling) where he started high jump in Class 7. He broke school and district records competing against able-bodied athletes.^[7] For further studies, he moved to Delhi, where he studied his Plus Two at Modern School and graduated in Political Science from Kirori Mal College. Post Graduation in Politics with Specialization in International relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University.^[2][8] He is supported by GoSports Foundation through the Para Champions Programme.

Career

Para High-Jumper Sharad Kumar is training at SAI, Bangalore. National High-Jump Coach Nikitan uffgan has been giving important tips to Sharad, a probable for 2012 London Paralympic games.

Sharad made his international debut in 2010 at the Asian Para Games in Guangzhou.^[2] In January 2012, he jumped 1.64m, thus qualifying for the 2012 Paralympics. In April 2012, with a jump of 1.75m at the Malaysian Open Para athletics championship, he became world no. 1 at the age of 19.

However he missed the London Paralympics after testing positive for a banned drug.^[8] He made his comeback in the 2014 Asian Para Games, where he won gold by clearing 1.80m, breaking a 12-year Asian Games record and also regained the World No. 1 spot.^[4] He participated in the Rio Paralympics 2016, finishing at sixth position with a best of 1.77m. He started training under Mr. Satyanarayana, National Para Athletics Coach since March 2015.^[9] He won Silver in 2017 World ParaAthletics Championships with a jump of 1.84m. He won Gold Medal in 2018 Para Asían Games Jakarta setting a new Game Record and Continental Record by jumping 1.90m.

Training in Ukraine since 2017, under TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme, government of India )

References

1. "Sharad Kumar". rio2016.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
2. "Kumar Sharad". Paralympic.org. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
3. "Indian Paralympic trio create history by ranking 1, 2 and 3 in high jump". Sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
4. Amit Kumar (6 November 2014). "Para-athlete Sharad Kumar fighting for recognition despite gold at 2014 Asian Games". news18.com. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
5. Sportstar, Team (14 August 2024). "India at Paris Paralympics 2024: Complete list of 84 athletes at Paralympic Games". Sportstar. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
6. Sarakshi Rai (23 March 2015). "Discriminated and ignored:The sad story of India's paralympians". Firstpost.com. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
7. Deepika Das (9 November 2014). "Jumping on a high road". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
8. K P Mohan (19 September 2012). "Sharad Kumar alleges 'sabotage'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
9. "Mariyappam Thangavela wins gold, Varun Bhati wins bronze in mens T42 high jump". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.