Even with medals, not all that glitters is gold
A year ago today, Malaysia won a bronze at the Paralympics – its fourth medal – in Brazil. And the athletes who won were all rewarded. For one gold medallist in Rio, though, the gold medal and rewards may have led to his own undoing.
MARIAPPAN is a paralympics legend. His is a story of a grit, determination, success, frustration and finally, redemption.
Mariyappan is a paralympic star. His is a story of grit and determination, success, fame, film stardom and finally, villainy.
This is a story of two Mariappans. And of how sports can be many things to many people. You may be a hero one day and the bad guy on another. You can have fame today and be totally ignored tomorrow.
P. Mariappan, now 59, is a Malaysian legend. He was the first Malaysian medallist in any big Games, having won two bronze medals in the 1988 Seoul Paralympics and the 1992 Barcelona edition. Able-bodied Malaysian athletes won their first Olympic medals in 1992.
Mariappan was born normal but polio left him unable to walk at the age of three. But he was not to be stopped.
He worked hard to become a successful powerlifter and for 34 years, was the face of Malaysian Paralympics.
He took part in seven Paralympics and in many other competitions throughout these years, consistently bringing fame to the country. He won more than 70 medals and was even a world record holder at one time.
He always stood as an unsung hero but he remembers his exploits and if there is any regret, it is that he did not improve on the colour of the medal.
“I served the nation well because I worked for it,” he says.
But the rewards were not forthcoming. He has been an ice cream seller, a tailor and also a lift attendant. He lives in a little flat in Batu Caves, which he shares with disabled wife B. Chandriga and their three children, Tanuja, 20, Sreetharan, 18, and Thaarani, 12.
He has often compared himself to an old shirt – worn smartly when it was new and crisp and then treated like a rag after becoming worn out.
His contract wih the National Sports Council (NSC) as a full-time trainee ended in 2012 and he had to quit sports.
For years, he had to eke out a living with the meagre RM350 he got from the Social Welfare Department.
And then redemption came, largely thanks to other paralympians.
When Malaysia won three gold medals and a bronze in Rio – the bronze from Siti Noor Radiah Ismail coming exactly a year ago today – the government decided to give pensions to all paralympic medallists, even those from decades before.
Mariappan, the double bronze medallist now has a pension and will even play a key role in the opening ceremony of the Asean Para Games which begin on Sunday. It’s nothing less than well-deserved.
But what of the other Mariyappan? T. Mariyappan is a 22-year-old from Salem in India. He, too, had shown grit in life. His father abandoned his family and his mother had to do tough, menial labour and sell vegetables to keep the family going.
When he was five, he was hit by a bus while walking to school. The driver was drunk and Mariyappan’s leg was crushed below the knee and had to be amputated.
Despite it all, he completed school and finished his MBA.
At school, he wanted to be volleyball player but a teacher trained him for the high jump.
Then, hopping on one foot, he leaped high in Rio to win the men’s high jump T42 category to become India’s first Paralympics gold medallist since 2004.
The accolades poured in. He received a federal title, he received tens of millions in rupees in rewards and there is even a film being made about him.
But with the highs come the lows. Villagers in Salem claim he is a changed man now. He bought a high-end luxury car and, with his friends, drives around like a fiend.
There was an accident and the expensive car was damaged. A youth involved in the accident fled the scene. He was later found dead beside a railway track.
The claim is that Mariyappan and his friends had gone to the youth’s house and demanded that he pay for repairs to the car.
The youth agreed but the group took his mobile phone. The lad came chasing after them. And the boy was not heard from – until his body was found.
Now, the paralympics high jump gold winner has hit a new low. He stands accused of killing a youth.
Success should never go to one’s head.
You may be a hero one day and the bad guy on another. You can have fame today and be totally ignored tomorrow.