Hailing from a poor family of Salem district in Tamil Nadu, Mariyappan Thangavelu clinched the high jump gold medal at the just-concluded IWAS World Junior Games 2015 in the Netherlands.
He had cleared a distance of 1.77 metres in the F 42 category.
"PCI expects all support from the state government of Tamil Nadu and central government to see that he brings laurels to the state and country. PCI wishes all the best for his future," the Paralympic Committee of India said in a statement.
