Double delight for India as Mariyappan Thangavelu wins gold and Varun Bhati bronze at Rio Paralympics

 New Delhi: Indian opened its medal account at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after Mariyappan Thangavelu bagged gold and Varun Bhati bronze in the men’s T42 High Jump event on day two.

Thangavelu claimed top spot after his best leap of 1.89 metres while Bhati registered his best mark of 1.86m.

Silver medal was claimed by USA’s Sam Grewe who also recorded 1.86 metres.

The fight for podium was extremely tough as six out of 12 athletes had cleared the 1.74m mark in the first eight attempts.

In the end, it was India's Mariyappan who grabbed the top honours in Rio by finishing with a jump of 1.89m, outscoringSam Grewe and fellow Indian Varun Bhati in the process.

Bhati also set his personal best in the gold winning leap.