Varun Singh Bhati participated in athletics while attending school despite having poliomyelitis at a young age. He has won a number of medals at international competitions as a para-athlete, including the bronze at the World Para Athletics Championships in 2017 and the Summer Paralympic Games in 2016.
His Early Years of Life
Former national athlete Satyanarayana has been his coach since 2014. The GoSports Foundation’s Para Champions Program provides support for Bhati. In Greater Noida, he resides. He is presently working out in Bangalore at the Sports Authority of India.
He Followed his Passion for Sports
Basketball was Varun Singh Bhati’s first love in sports, and he has always been quite passionate about it. Later, he changed from basketball to high jump because the two sports had comparable strategies.
He started training with athletes who were not crippled in order to develop his abilities. Varun was brilliant from the time he was in primary school. His first few years of school were spent with teachers who were quite encouraging. After Varun started working with a great coach, Satyanarayan, his skills improved.
Varun was a good student, which was surprising considering how much time he spent doing sports. Throughout his academic career, he never allowed one to come in the way of the other.
After winning gold in the 2012 China Open Athletics Championships right away, Varun received the much-needed return.
He won the bronze medal for his incredible performance at the Rio Paralympics, which astounded the country. After accomplishing this feat, he was given the coveted Arjuna Award.
He Fought Polio for Sports and Became a Para-Athlete
When Varun was just six months old, he was given the wrong medication to treat his poliomyelitis, which left him permanently disabled in one limb. But he and his family were resolute that he would continue to live life to the fullest despite his impairment.
Glimpse of His Career Achievements
Bhati has a T42 impairment. When he achieved the “A” qualifying mark for the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games in London with a record of 1.60 m, he attracted notice in 2012. However, he was unable to qualify for the 2012 Games due to the few seats that were allocated to India.
He competed in the 2014 Asian Paralympics in Incheon, Korea, and finished fifth. In the same year, he took home a gold medal from the China Open Athletics Championship. He again placed fifth at the 2015 Para World Championship in Doha, Qatar. At the 2016 IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championship, he created a new Asian record and earned a gold medal with a jump of 1.82 meters.
Bhati’s personal best leap of 1.86 meters earned him the bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He cleared a 1.77 m leap to take home the medal in the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships.
With a jump of 1.82 meters, he took home a silver medal in the Asian Para Games in 2018.
