Shot Put Athlete Tek Chand, The New Flagbearer Of Indian Contingent For Tokyo Paralympic 2020 Is A Winner Of International Medals

New Delhi: India has been forced to change the Flagbearer of its contingent for the opening ceremony of Tokyo Paralympic 2020, as the pre-announced Flagbearer Thangavelu Mariyappan has been replaced by Shot Put athlete Tek Chand. According to the reports reaching here from Tokyo, Thangavelu Mariyappan came in close contact with a COVID19 positive passenger on the flight from New Delhi To Tokyo.

Tek Chand is also a renowned Indian athlete who has won medals in Asian Games and World Athletics championship. He won a Bronze medal in Men’s Shot Put at the Asian Para Games Jakarta Indonesia, 2018  and Silver Medal in Shot Put Event at 2018 World Para Athletics Grand Prix. Tek Chand will participate in the F55 category of Shot Put event.

Tek Chand is an Indian Para-athlete born on 24th July 1984 and is currently deputed as a Coach in Dept. of Sports &  Youth Affairs, Government of Haryana. He hails from the Bawal village of Haryana’s Rewari district. Tek Chand comes from humble family background and belongs to a family of farmers living in Haryana. His father Late Sh. Ramesh Chand passed away when he was only 9 years old. Tek Chand and his elder brother Duli Chand used to work with his mother, Smt.Vidya Devi in their small farming land. After passing the 12th exam and doing ITI with Turner Start, he had a stint with M/s Federal-Mogul GoetzeIndiaLtd., Bhiwadi. It was during his company duty that he met with an accident on 21 March 2005. Tek Chand sustained a  spinal cord injury and was completely paralyzed. In 2015 he happened to hear from his friend about Para Games and started game practice. He met coach, Satbir Singh at the stadium and started practice under his watchful eyes. Tek Chand has been regularly practicing Javelin and Shot Put ever since the day he joined the stadium. He used to journey up and down between home and the stadium for 15 kilometers every day.

Here are details of Tek Chand

Name: Tek Chand 

Date of Birth:24th July 1984

Native: Rewari, Haryana

Sport: Para Athletics

Event: Men’s Shot Put

Category: F54/55 (Limb deficiency, leg length difference, 

impaired muscle power or impaired range of movement)

Training base: Rao Tularam Stadium, Rewari

Personal coach: Arun Kumar

National coach: Arun Kumar

Achievements 

 Bronze Medal in Men’s Shot Put at the Asian Para Games Jakarta Indonesia, 2018 

Silver Medal in Shot Put Event at 2018 World Para Athletics Grand Prix 

 Details of Coaches 

a) Grassroot Level: NA

b) Development Level: Satbir Singh 

c) Elite Level: Mr. Arun Kumar