Personal information | |
---|---|
Nationality | Indian |
Born | Amb, Himachal Pradesh, India | 3 October 1999
Sport | |
Sport | Paralympic athletics |
Disability class | T47 |
Event | High jump |
Nishad Kumar (born 3 October 1999) is an Indian paralympian. He qualified to represent India at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the high jump T47 category.[1] He won the silver medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics at Tokyo and retained his silver at the 2024 Summer Paralympics at Paris.[2]
Nishad is from Baduan village of Amb[3] sub-division in Una District, Himachal Pradesh. His father was a farmer. His mother, a state-level volleyball player and a discus thrower, was his inspiration. At the age of six,[4] his right hand was severed accidentally by a grass-cutting machine in his family farm.[5][3] He did his college in DAV College, Sector 10 in Chandigarh. He later pursued his higher education at the Himachal Pradesh University.[citation needed] He is studying for a PE at Lovely Professional University.[6][7] In early 2021, he tested positive for COVID-19.[8] He is supported by Olympic Gold Quest, a sports NGO.
He took up the sport of para-athletics in 2009. In November 2019, he won the bronze medal in the men's T47 category at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships and, as a result, he qualified to compete at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.[9] He won the gold medal in T46 category at the 2021 World Para Athletics Grand Prix which was held in Dubai.[8]
He also became the second Indian to win a medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics after Bhavina Patel when he clinched a silver in the men's high jump T47 category along with an Asian Record.[8][10] He shared the silver medal with Dallas Wise of USA who also cleared the same distance of 2.06m.[5][11]
In the 2022 Asian Para Games, he won a gold medal in the men's high jump T47[3] at Hangzhou, China.