London Paralympics: Girisha wins India's first medal

London: Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda gave India its first medal at the Paralympic Games after bagging a silver in the Men's High Jump F42 event here.

The 24-year-old from Karnataka, who has an impairment in his left leg, sailed over a height of 1.74m using scissors technique in the final of the event to finish second in the presence of an 80,000 capacity crowd last night.

Iliesa Delana of Fiji won the gold, while Lukasz Mamczarz of Poland settled for bronze.

Girisha Nagarajegowda won a silver medal in the Men\'s High Jump F42 event.

Although Delana finished on the same height of 1.74m as Girisha and Mamczarz, he won gold on the basis of taking less jumps.

Girisha, who is supported by Samarthanam, a Bangalore-based NGO for the disabled since 2008, took part in a three-week-long pre-Games training camp at Basildon Sporting Village sponsored by the Government of India.

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