Born into a poverty-struck family, Manikandan’s mother used to roll incense sticks to support the family and his father is a carpenter. Unfortunately, poverty was not to be the only obstacle he would have to face. He fell victim to polio as a young boy in school. But he didn’t it stop from his pursuing his passion — rock climbing.
Although Manikandan’s parents knew that he liked rock climbing, they were shocked and angry when he told them that he wanted to become a professional climber. But the determined young boy persevered, following an exhaustive regime for 10 years to become a better climber.
And better he did become. In 2012, Manikandan won a gold medal in the IFSC Paraclimbing World Championship, held in the Bercy stadium in Paris. There was no looking back for him after that. Today, he is India’s only para-climbing world champion and has won 11 international medals. He is now eyeing a medal at Tokyo 2020.