5 sports in which India or an Indian is currently World No. 1

#4 Mariyappan Thangavelu (Paralympic High Jumper)

Mariyappan Thangavelu won the gold medal at Rio Paralymics

Mariyappan Thangavelu, the high jumper who made India proud in the Rio Paralympics 2016, is ranked the number one in the world. He achieved this incredible feat in his debut year at senior level earlier this year before the Paralympics.

At the Paralympics, the 20-year-old, he became India’s first Paralympic gold medallist since 2004 as he jumped 1.89m to secure his gold medal.

Reaching the top was never easy for Thangavelu. He lost his right leg after a disastrous accident when he was only five years old. However, the youngster beat all odds and went on to win the gold medal at the IPC World Athletics Championship in Dubai and climbed to the top of the rankings for the first time.

Before going to Rio, Thangavelu said, “I might be world number 1, but things back home are pretty bad. My mother is still paying off the debt, and I hardly earn anything so I have nothing to contribute. But sometimes life is bigger than that no?”