I can win gold again: High jumper Mariyappan

Dreams do come true says a beaming Mariyappan Thangavelu The ace para high jumper has experienced it twice Once a newspaper delivery boy in Tamil Nadursquos Salem district Mariyappan wished to see articles on him in those newspapers He deserved all that column spaceLater he won gold in the T42 category high jump during his maiden ParalympicsmdashRio 2016 mdashwhere he leapt 189 metresProud flag bearerAt the Rio Paralympics opening ceremony itself Mariyappan dreamt of being the flag bearer for the next Paralympics That dream too will come true with the Paralympic Committee of India PCI choosing the Tamil Nadu lad to do the honours in Tokyo Mariyappan 26 canrsquot wait for Tuesday when he will hold the Indian flag to lead the Indian contingent of 54 athletes at the opening ceremonyldquoI am superexcited to carry Indiarsquos flag at the opening ceremony I had wished to be the flag bearer at the Olympics and here I am thrilled to be given the honoursrdquo Mariyappan tells midday from the Gamesrsquo Village on SaturdayR SatyanarayanaHis coach R Satyanarayana who spotted Mariyappan at the 2013 para Nationals requested the PCI to pick his ward as the flagbearer for extra motivation and additional responsibility Since his ankle surgery in 2018 Mariyappan has been low on confidence due to the long layoff informs his coachldquoIn 2016 post the Rio Paralympics Mariyappanrsquos year was full of felicitations and celebrations When he started preparing for the World Championship in the next year he injured his ankle while training We tried to avoid surgery but it was inevitableNo phone no social medialdquoFor three to four months I cut him off from everyone after the surgery I took away his phone too so that he was disconnected from social media I didnrsquot want any negativity to creep inrdquo explains Satyanarayana who represented India in 1500m eventsSuch was Mariyappanrsquos situation that he was in danger of not qualifying for Tokyo during the trials in New Delhi earlier this yearHowever an incentive of a highend mobile phone as a gift from his coach did the trick ldquoSir promised me to gift me an iPhone Pro12 Max if I qualified for Tokyo I gave my everything and managed to do itrdquo says Mariyappan who has a stunted right leg after a bus ran over it when he was just five leaving him permanently disabledSatyanarayana felt a boost was required ldquoAs I said he was low on confidence after the surgery Although he has completely recovered now mentally it takes time to get over it I wanted him to just go all out and use his full potential I am glad the trick workedrdquo the coach saysLuxury incentiveA luxury car will be Mariyappanrsquos if he wins his second consecutive gold at Tokyo ldquoSir has already booked it for me I am confident of getting it the car because I have prepared well I am not viewing this as pressure but as an added motivation because I know I have the ability to do it again win gold Nobody knew about me when I went to Rio Now everyone is aware of me That itself is huge motivation for me to do wellrdquo says Mariyappan Coach Satyanarayana is confident too ldquoI have faith in his ability He has worked very hard And if my incentives are motivating him further then why not do it I saved some money that I got as a reward in 2016 thanks to Mariyappan so I am utilising that money now to push him further I am very well looked after by my employers RailwaysrdquoOnly six officials for opening ceremonyOnly six officials from the Indian contingent are allowed to take part in the opening ceremony of Tokyo Paralympics on Tuesday chef de mission Gursharan Singh said on Sunday India will thus have 11 members participating in the opening ceremony the remaining five being athletes