Question

Who is the first Indian to win two Paralympic Gold Medals?
1. Devendra Jhajharia
2. Deepa Malik
3. Mariyappan Thangavelu
4. Varun Singh Bhati
5. None of the above/More than one of the above

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : Devendra Jhajharia

The correct answer is Devendra Jhajharia.

• Devendra Jhajharia is the first Indian to win two Paralympic Gold Medals.

• Devendra is the only Paralympic player in India, who have got a gold medal in this competition.
• Devendra is the spear-throwing player of India, who has only one hand.
• Devendra came into the world's eyes when he participated in the Paralympic Rio Olympics in 2016 and gave India a gold medal in the javelin throw competition.
• Devendra had earlier won the gold medal at the Summer Paralympics in 2004, after which it was his second gold medal at the Paralympics and he performed better than his earlier record.
• Devendra is currently associated with the GoSports Foundation through the Para Champions program.
• First Paralympic Games conducted in Rome in 1960.
• Till now 2,860 gold medals have been awarded in the sport. 

•  Deepa Malik- Deepa Malik is an Indian athlete.
  • She is the first Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympic Games and won a Silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in shot put.
  • She also won gold in the F-53/54 Javelin event at the para athletic Grand Prix held in Dubai in 2018.
  • She is currently the world number one in the F-53 category.
• Mariyappan Thangavelu: - Mariyappan Thangavelu is an Indian Paralympic high jumper. 
  • He 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.
  • The Government of India announced the "Padma Shri" award for his contribution towards sports in 2017 and in the same year, he was also awarded Arjuna Award.
  • He was awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in the year 2020 by the Government of India.
• Varun Singh Bhati is a para high jumper from India. 
  • He was afflicted by poliomyelitis at a young age and joined sports during his school days.
  • He has won several medals in international events including bronze at the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games and 2017 World Para Athletics Championships.