Celebrations in Mariyappan's village, college

Salem: Periyavadagampatti, a remote village in the mango district has suddenly found a place in the sports map of the world as a boy from its soil, Mariyappan Thangavelu, has jumped to fame winning the gold medal at the Rio Paralympics.

The entire village wore a festive look as villagers burst crackers and distributed sweets. The villagers were watching the live telecast of the events since 2.30 am. One of the locals, M. Manikandan said "Soon after he won the gold, the whole village started celebrating,  We will organise a volley ball sports event in his name soon to applaud him. He brought laurels not only for our villages but also for the country too." Banners hailing his success were erected at many parts of the village.

The mood in AVS arts college at Salem, where Mariyappan studied was not less jubilant as teachers joined the students in the celebrations. They burst crackers and cut cakes, besides running several laps around the college ground holding the national flag in their hands.

Among the teachers celebrating the great achievement, K. Ilamparithi, the trainer for Mariyappan after he joined the college is having one of his proudest moments in life.

Attributing Mariyappan's success to sheer hard work, Ilamparithi said the boy used to work hard for six hours every day. "He used to come every day to the Gandhi stadium where he practiced at 5.30 in the morning. The practice will continue for three hours at a stretch. Again, in the evening, he will practice for three hours. It is this kind of hard work that has made him the world champion now", he said..

Elaborating on his training, Ilamparithi said a change of technique in jumping helped Mariyappan to go a long way in improving his performance. He has recorded 1.89 metre to win the gold medal, but he is capable of reaching two metres, a confident coach declared.