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
)
, nations = 159
, athletes = 4,342
, opening = 7 September
, closing = 18 September
, opened_by = President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva
, events = 528 in 22 sports
, stadium = Maracanã
, sum ...
and
2017 World Para Athletics Championships
The 2017 World Para Athletics Championships were a Paralympic track and field meet organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was held at London Stadium in London from 14 to 23 July 2017. It wa ...
.
Early life
Since 2014, he has been coached by Satyanarayana, a former national athlete. Bhati is supported by the
GoSports Foundation
The GoSports Foundation (GSF) is an independent, donor-funded non-profit venture, working towards securing funds and professional expertise for some of India's junior Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Established in 2008, it has worked with nume ...
through the Para Champions Programme. He lives in
Greater Noida
Greater Noida is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city was created as an extension to Noida area under the ''UP Industrial Area Development Act, 1976''. Situated south-east of t ...
. He currently trains at the
Sports Authority of India
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) is the apex national sports body of India, established in 1982 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of Government of India for the development of sports in India. SAI has 2 Sports Academic institution ...
in Bangalore.
Career
Bhati has
T42 disability. He received attention in 2012 when he registered the 'A' qualification mark for the
2012 Summer Paralympic Games
The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...
in London with a performance of 1.60m. However, owing to limited slots available to India, he failed to qualify for the 2012 Games.
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
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...
, Qatar. He recorded a jump of 1.82m at the 2016 IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championship where he won a gold as well as set a new Asian record.
Bhati won the bronze medal in the
2016 Summer Paralympic Games
)
, nations = 159
, athletes = 4,342
, opening = 7 September
, closing = 18 September
, opened_by = President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva
, events = 528 in 22 sports
, stadium = Maracanã
, sum ...
at
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
when he jumped 1.86m, his personal best.
He won the bronze in the
2017 World Para Athletics Championships
The 2017 World Para Athletics Championships were a Paralympic track and field meet organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was held at London Stadium in London from 14 to 23 July 2017. It wa ...
by clearing a 1.77m jump.
He won a silver medal in the
2018 Asian Para Games, recording a jump of 1.82m.
Awards
Bhati was awarded the
Arjuna Award on 29 August 2018.
He was voted Para-athlete of the Year 2017 at the Times of India Sports Awards.
See also
*
Sharad Kumar
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhati, Varun
Living people
Indian male high jumpers
Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
1995 births
Athletes from Uttar Pradesh
Paralympic bronze medalists for India
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
Delhi University alumni
People with polio
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
Paralympic athletes of India
Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics