KOTTAYAM: A 28-year-old resident of Arpookkara in Kottayam won the high jump gold for India at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix at Monterrey in Mexico on Thursday.
Unni Renu, who is with the Indian Army, had suffered serious injuries to his right leg in a motorbike accident three years ago. He is the lone Malayali in the Army contingent representing India in the para athletics meet.
Unni’s father K C Renu said his son was active in athletics, mainly jumping events, from his school days and had won many medals at the state and national levels. “When he was doing bachelor’s degree at St Thomas College, Pala, he contested in an event organised by Army officers. On seeing his performance, the officers invited him to join the Army,” said Renu of Thekkedathu, Arpookkara.
“Unni joined the Army in 2014. Later, he won many medals for the Army in the high jump. However, a bike accident that happened when he was on leave three years ago changed his life. His leg suffered three fractures and a steel road had to be fixed. He was treated at the hospital in Naval Base, Kochi, and the Military Hospital in Pune.
With the steel road fixed in his leg, he continued his practice and the Army allowed him to contest in the para athletics meet,” said Renu, who along with wife Usha, has been running a makeshift tea shop near the Kottayam Medical College for the past 26 years.
He had won gold in the National Para Athletics Championship at Bhubaneswar in April, which gave him the opportunity to compete in the world meet.