Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the family of paralympic medalist Mariappan Thangavelu in Salem through video conferencing on Tuesday.
Thangavelu won the gold medal in men’s high jump in the 2016 Paralympics conducted at Rio de Janeiro. He hails from a humble background and is currently undergoing training at Bengaluru to represent the country in the Tokyo Paralympics this month.
Mr. Mariappan’s mother Saroja, brothers Kumar and Gopi interacted with the Prime Minister from their residence at Periavadagampatti while Mr. Mariappan joined the call from Bengaluru. Mr.Modi enquired with the family about the Paralympian and his diet. Ms.Saroja expressed confidence that her son would bring home gold this time as well, and she has been praying for his success. Talking about his diet, she said that Mr. Mariappan is fed with country chicken and ‘attukal’ (goat leg) soup.
The Prime Minister asked Mr. Mariappan about his journey and his preparations for the Paralympics. Interacting with Ms. Saroja, Mr. Modi said that Mr. Mariappan had achieved success only due to her sacrifice.
District Collector S. Karmegham also visited the family on Tuesday.
