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The incredible Avani Lekhara became the first Indian to claim successive Paralympic gold medals with a record-shattering top finish in the women’s 10m air rifle (SH1) shooting competition and had a bronze-winning Mona Agarwal for company on the podium in a historic double for the country here on Friday. Winner of the Tokyo Paralympics gold three years back, Avani, 22, shot a superb 249.7 to erase her own Paralympic record of 249.6 set in the Japanese capital three years back.
Gold medallist Avani Lekhara with her medal. Pics/Getty Images
Mona, who dabbled in several sports including shot-put, powerlifting and wheelchair volleyball before settling on shooting, notched up 228.7 for the third-place finish. This is the first time in India’s Paralympic history that two shooters have pulled off medals in a single event. Avani, who hails from Jaipur, endured a tough buildup to the Paralympics. She grappled with a host of health issues, including a gallbladder surgery, which forced her to take a recovery break of one and half months.
Also Read: Paris Paralympics 2024: India`s medal tally, winners
Avani has trained her eyes on more glory in the Paris Paralympics, saying she wants to stand on the podium in her remaining two events too. “It was a very close final. There was very less gap between 1, 2 and 3. I was focussing on my thought process and not the result,” Avani said after her historic win here. “I’m happy that the Indian national anthem was the first national anthem that got played in the arena this time too. I have two more matches to go so I’m focusing on winning more medals for the country,” she added.
Bronze medal-winner Mona Agarwal celebrates on the podium
Mona said: “It was very difficult, but I succeeded. So, thank you. Being in the company of Avani definitely helped. She is a champion and she inspires me.”
Indians in action today
>> Para badminton
Women’s singles SL3: Mandeep Kaur v Celine Vinot (Australia)… 12:00
Men’s singles SL3: Nitesh Kumar v Mongkhon Bunsun (Thailand)… 13:20
Manoj Sarkar v Yang Jianyuan (China)… 14:00
Men’s singles SL4: Sukant Kadam v Siripong Teamarrom (Thailand)… 14:40
Tarun v Lucas Mazur (France)… 15:20
Women’s singles SU5: Manisha Ramadass v Yang Qiu Xia (China)… 16:00
>> Para shooting
Men’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 qualification: Swaroop Unhalkar… 13:00
Women’s 10m air pistol SH1 qualification: Rubina Francis…15:30
>> Para cycling
Women’s C1-3 500m time trial qualifying: Jyoti Gaderiya… 13:30
Men’s C1-3 500m time trial qualifying: Arshad Shaik… 13:49
>> Para rowing
PR3 Mixed double sculls repechage: Anita, K Narayana… 14:40
>> Para Archery
Women’s individual compound 1/8 elimination: Sarita v Eleonora Sarti (Italy)… 19:00
Sheetal Devi v Mariana Zuniga (Chile)… 20:59
>> Para athletics
Men’s javelin throw F57 final: Parveen Kumar… 22:30
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