Nishad Kumar: Lost his hand while working in the fields, wanted to join the Indian Army and won silver at the 2024 Paralympics

Nishad KumarThe journey to achieving the Paralympic silver medal is a testament to the indomitable human spirit. Nishad, who grew up on his family’s small farm in India, dreamed of joining the Indian Army. However, fate intervened when a tragic accident cost him his hand at the tender age of eight. In 2007, he lost his hand on a forage cutting machine. Despite this setback, Nishad’s determination and resilience shone through.

On Sunday evening, the 24-year-old claimed a silver medal in the men’s T47 high jump final, leaping to a height of 2.04 metres.

Nishad, a native of Una in Himachal Pradesh, won India’s third medal in para-athletics and the country’s seventh overall in Paris Paralympic Games with a season’s best effort of 2.04m.

Nishad also won a silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago. He had jumped 2.06m in Tokyo then.

His parents Rashpal and Pushpa Devi reflected on their son’s feat and said, “Like any village boy, Nishad was fond of flying kits and also meeting army soldiers during holidays while he was attending school.

“His first dream was to join the Indian Army. When the accident happened, he was not worried about the pain but asked the doctors if he could join the army. The doctors did not want to disappoint him. His two medals at the Paralympics are testimony to his determination that he can serve India by winning medals and seeing the tricolour fly high,” Rashpal told theindianexpress.com.

On his path to success, Nishad had to overcome some tough technical challenges. Coach Vikram Chaudhary knew that in order to jump high, Nishad needed to learn the Fosbury Flop technique, which involves landing on the stomach. Although Nishad initially learned the scissor kick style, his early training gave him a strong core and powerful knee drive, which were important in mastering the new technique. With Coach Chaudhary’s guidance, Nishad worked hard to learn and perfect the Fosbury Flop technique.

“Nishad’s biggest strength was his belief that he could compete in the all-around category from a young age and that helped him develop into a confident athlete. Our main challenge was to get him to master the Fosbury Flop technique, where the jumper lands on his stomach. He grew up jumping in the scissor kick style, which helped him improve his core strength and knee drive at a young age,” said coach Vikram Chaudhary.