Shailesh Kumar has scripted history as he won gold for India in Para Athletics World Championship at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on September 28. He cleared a height of 1.91m in the T63 category of the men’s high jump and broke into record books. With this success, he also got the better of the reigning Paralympic champion Ezra Frech of the USA. Last year, Shailesh suffered a heartbreak as he concluded his campaign outside the podium by falling short at the Paris Paralympic Games.
Following that failure, Shailesh was disheartened and didn’t practice for two months. His parents told him to recollect himself and following that he started training again. On his massive success, Shailesh said that he was aiming for a 1.94 m jump but he will
strive to achieve that target in the next tournament. He expressed joy saying, “To beat an athlete like Frech feels truly special. I was targeting 1.94m but that didn’t happen today. But no problem, I will cross that in the next competition”.
Nitish Kumar announces INR 75 Lakh reward for Shailesh Kumar
As Shailesh belongs to Islampur, on his massive success, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar congratulated him through a social media post and also announced INR 75 Lakh reward for the 25-year-old.
Shilesh’s compatriot Varun Kumar Bhati bagged the bronze medal in high jump T63 class. He recorded a jump of 1.85 m. Frech lost his title to Shailesh in the T62 category but in the T63 segment, Ezra will remain the champion as he registered 1.95m jump in Paris in 2023. Ezra also holds the world record of 1.97m, which he set last year at a meet in Miramar, USA.
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