Finance
It was double delight for India as shooter Avani Lekhara opened India’s medal tally with a gold medal. On Friday (August 30), shooter Avani Lekhara won gold in the R2 – Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event at the Paris Paralympics 2024, while her countrymate Mona Agarwal took bronze.
Avani Lekhara finished with a score of 249.7, beating her personal Paralympic record of 249.6 from the Tokyo Paralympics 2020. She becomes the first Indian woman to win two gold medals at the Paralympics.
Avani, as the event’s defending champion, carried the hopes of an entire nation. She started strongly and finished in second place after the first two series (10 shots). Korean Lee took first position with a score of 104.2, followed by Avani 1-3.7 and Chinese C Zhong Yixin 103.3. Mona Agarwal was in sixth place (102.7), but she rose to the top with some outstanding shooting as the final progressed.
Mona moved up to third place after scoring a perfect 10.9 on her 11th shot. There was a fierce battle between Avani and Lee before the Indian gained the lead on the 13th shot and kept it tight with some daring shooting. Mona climbed to second place with a 10.7 in the 17th shot as Indian shooters found themselves perched in 1-2.
Mona made additional progress, taking the lead after twenty shots. She had a total of 208.1, which put her ahead of Avani by one decimal point. Though her speed slowed as the final approached the finish line, it was enough to earn her a bronze medal.
After a roller-coaster ride, Avani won gold. She will compete in two more events and is a strong favourite to return with a couple more medals.
Manish Narwal won silver in the 10m air pistol SH1 event in Paris on Friday, following his gold medal in the mixed 50m pistol at the Tokyo Paralympics. He finished second to Korea’s Jeongdu Jo, with Yang Chao of China taking bronze.
While Narwal remained in contention for the top podium spot, he appeared to lose momentum in his final six shots. He only shot above 10 once, shooting 10.1, and finished with scores of 8.9 and 9.9 in the crucial gold shootout. Korea’s Jo, on the other hand, shot a remarkable 10.8 under pressure, followed by an 8.7, enough to win the gold medal.
Narwal’s silver was India’s fourth medal in the Paris Paralympics, following Avani Lekhara’s second consecutive top podium finish in the 10m air rifle event. Mona Agarwal also won a bronze medal in the same event, ensuring a double podium for the contingent.
Source:HT
