Varun Singh Bhati

Varun Singh Bhati (born 13 February 1995) is a para high jumper from India. He was afflicted by poliomyelitis at a young age, and joined sports during his school days. He has won several medals in international events including bronze at 2016 Summer Paralympic Games and 2017 World Para Athletics Championships.

Varun Singh Bhati

Personal information
Nationality	Indian
Born	13 February 1995
Sport
Country	India
Sport	Para Athletics
Disability	Poliomyelitis
Disability class	A2
Event(s)	High Jump T42
Medal record Track and field (para high jump) Representing  India China Open Athletics Championship 2014 China Open Athletics Championships T42 Paralympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro T42 World Para Athletics Championships 2017 London T42 Asian Para Games 2018 Indonesia T42/63

Early life

Varun Singh Bhati was born on 13 February 1995 to Hem Singh Bhati. He was afflicted by poliomyelitis at young age. His sport talent was recognized when he was at St Josephs School, Greater Noida. He studied B.Sc. Maths (Hons) from Maharaja Agrasen College, University of Delhi.

Since 2014, he has been coached by Satyanarayana, a former national athlete. Bhati is supported by the GoSports Foundation through the Para Champions Programme.[1][2] He lives in Greater Noida. He currently trains at the Sports Authority of India in Bangalore.[3]

Career

Bhati has T42 disability. He received attention in 2012 when he registered the 'A' qualification mark for the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games in London with a performance of 1.60 m. However, owing to limited slots available to India, he failed to qualify for the 2012 Games.[3][4]

He participated in the 2014 Asian Para Games at Incheon, Korea where he stood 5th. He won a gold medal at the 2014 China Open Athletics Championship the same year. In 2015, he stood 5th again at the 2015 Para World Championship in Doha, Qatar. He recorded a jump of 1.82 m at the 2016 IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championship where he won a gold as well as set a new Asian record.[3][5]

Bhati won the bronze medal in the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil when he jumped 1.86 m, his personal best.[3][6] He won the bronze in the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships by clearing a 1.77 m jump.[7]

He won a silver medal in the 2018 Asian Para Games, recording a jump of 1.82 m.[8]

Awards

Varun Singh Bhati being awarded the Arjuna Award (2017) by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on 29 August 2017

Bhati was awarded the Arjuna Award on 29 August 2018.[9]

He was voted Para-athlete of the Year 2017 at the Times of India Sports Awards.[10]

See also

• Sharad Kumar

References

1. "Varun Bhati". www.indusind.com. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
2. "GoSports Foundation".
3. "Varun Singh Bhati overcame obstacles to clinch bronze at Paralympics". The Times of India. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
4. "Varun Bhati makes the cut in high jump for Paralympics". HighBeam Research. 29 March 2012. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
5. "(Athletics) Athlete Profile : BHATI Varun Singh - Dubai 2016 IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championships". International Paralympic Committee. 13 February 1995. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
6. "Rio Paralympics: Mariyappan Thangavelu wins gold, Varun Bhati clinches bronze in men's high jump". The Times of India. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
7. "Silver for Sharad Kumar, Bronze for Varun Bhati at World Para Athletics Championship". The Indian Express. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
8. "Varun bhati smashes Silver in 2018 Asian Para Games at jakarta". Indian Express. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
9. "Para high jumper Varun Bhati to get Arjuna Award". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
10. "varun-bhati-voted-para-athlete-of-the-year". Times of India.