India''s Praveen Kumar clinched silver medal in the men's high jump T64 event of the Tokyo Paralympics on Friday. Image Source: Twitter

Xtra Time Web Desk: India''s Praveen Kumar clinched silver medal in the men's high jump T64 event of the Tokyo Paralympics on Friday. The 18 year old para athlete making his debut in Paralympics set a new Asian record with a 2.07m jump to finish behind Great Britain''s Jonathan Broom-Edwards, who notched up his season's best effort of 2.10m for the gold.

This was also Kumar''s personal best performance and his first major medal since taking up the sport in 2019. The teenager is a Noida resident and is now the youngest medal winner in the Indian contingent at Tokyo Paralympics.

T64 classification is for athletes with a leg amputation, who compete with prosthetics in a standing position. His impairment, which is congenital, affects the bones that connect his hip to his left leg.

Kumar had earlier won a silver medal junior para world championship in 2019, his debut year. He is currently ranked world No.3 in T44 classification. He has always trained under national coach Satyapal Singh after coming to know of para-sports while competing in the high jump event for able-bodied athletes as a child.

The ongoing Games are turning out to be India''s best ever and the nation has so far claimed two gold, six silver and three bronze medals.