Salem sources have stated that ‘Golden boy’ T. Mariyappan, who has created history by winning the high jump event in the just has concluded Rio Paralympics, has arrived to a rousing reception at his Periavadagampatti village, about 40 km from Salem city, on Saturday.
Mariyappan, who has arrived in Chennai on Friday, has reached here by road, where he was received by V. Sampath, District Collector, along with a host of senior officials at the Thoppur check-post on the Salem-Bengaluru national highway and the Collector has presented a shawl and bouquet to him lauding his achievement.
Meanwhile a large number of people have lined up on both sides of the road as the convoy made brief stopovers at villages along the route and they had moved close to the van to take selfies with Mariyappan. As the convoy have reached Periavadagampatti village after covering a distance of nine km in a little over an hour, more than 3,000 people of the village and surrounding areas greeted him.
It was stated that the local people, particularly women, have positioned themselves at vantage points to catch of a glimpse of their hero. Giant flex-boards and banners displaying the portrait of Mariyappan were found in every corner of the tiny village.
