Avani Lekhara Shines, India Bags Medals at Paris Paralympics

India's Avani Lekhara secures gold, while Mona Agarwal earns bronze in the women's 10m air rifle at the Paris Paralympics. Bhavina and Sonalben Patel, however, fall short in table tennis quarterfinals.

India's Bhavina Patel and Sonalben Patel came up short of a medal in the Women's Doubles table tennis quarterfinal at the Paris Paralympics. Facing Korea's Young A Jung and Sunghye Moon, they were defeated with a scoreline of 5-11, 6-11, 11-9, 6-11.

In contrast, reigning Paralympic champion Avani Lekhara maintained her winning streak by claiming gold in the women's 10m air rifle final on Friday. Mona Agarwal also shone, bagging the bronze medal in the same event. Starting the Paralympics on a positive note, India secured two medals in the women's 10m air rifle event, with both competitors consistently among the top three.

However, it was Avani who dominated the final, securing the gold with a personal best score of 249.7 points. South Korea's Yunri Lee earned the silver with 246.8 points, while India's Mona Agarwal secured bronze with 228.7 points, finishing third. Earlier, Mona finished the qualification round with a score of 623.1, taking the fifth spot, and Avani secured the second spot with 625.8 points.

Ukraine's Iryna Shchetnik, holding the qualification world record, set a new Paralympic qualification record with a score of 627.5, surpassing the previous record set by China's Zhang Cuiping in Tokyo. As the Paris Paralympics progress, India's athletes keep their focus and determination high, with more events on the horizon. This year marks India's largest-ever Paralympic contingent, comprising 84 athletes across 12 sports.

India's participation in the Paris 2024 Paralympics symbolizes not just an increase in participant numbers but also heightened medal hopes, aiming to surpass their record-breaking 19-medal haul from Tokyo 2020, which included five golds, eight silvers, and six bronzes.

(With inputs from agencies.)