Varun Singh Bhati
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 and 2017 World Para Athletics Championships.
![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nationality | Indian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 13 February 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | ![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Para Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Disability | Poliomyelitis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Disability class | A2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | High Jump T42 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Early life
Since 2014, he has been coached by Satyanarayana, a former national athlete. Bhati was supported by the GoSports Foundation through the Para Champions Programme.[1][2] He lives in Greater Noida. He currently trains at the Sports Authority of India in Bangalore.[3]
Career
Bhati has T42 disability. He received attention in 2012 when he registered the 'A' qualification mark for the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games in London with a performance of 1.60 m. However, owing to limited slots available to India, he failed to qualify for the 2012 Games.[3][4]
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, Qatar. He recorded a jump of 1.82 m at the 2016 IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championship where he won a gold as well as set a new Asian record.[3][5]
Bhati won the bronze medal in the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil when he jumped 1.86 m, his personal best.[3][6] He won the bronze in the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships by clearing a 1.77 m jump.[7]
He won a silver medal in the 2018 Asian Para Games, recording a jump of 1.82 m.[8]
Awards

Bhati was awarded the Arjuna Award on 29 August 2018.[9]
He was voted Para-athlete of the Year 2017 at the Times of India Sports Awards.[10]
See also
- Sharad Kumar
References
- "Varun Bhati". www.indusind.com. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- "GoSports Foundation".
- "Varun Singh Bhati overcame obstacles to clinch bronze at Paralympics". The Times of India. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- "Varun Bhati makes the cut in high jump for Paralympics". HighBeam Research. 29 March 2012. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- "(Athletics) Athlete Profile : BHATI Varun Singh - Dubai 2016 IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championships". International Paralympic Committee. 13 February 1995. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- "Rio Paralympics: Mariyappan Thangavelu wins gold, Varun Bhati clinches bronze in men's high jump". The Times of India. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- "Silver for Sharad Kumar, Bronze for Varun Bhati at World Para Athletics Championship". The Indian Express. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- "Varun bhati smashes Silver in 2018 Asian Para Games at jakarta". Indian Express. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
- "Para high jumper Varun Bhati to get Arjuna Award". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- "varun-bhati-voted-para-athlete-of-the-year". Times of India. 26 February 2018.