Double Olympic Medalist Manu Bhaker Lauds Avani Lekhara's Paralympic Gold

Double Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker congratulates para shooter Avani Lekhara for winning gold at the Paris Paralympics. The National Rifle Association of India honored Paralympic winners, including Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh, and Swapnil Kusale, who discussed their aspirations for future competitions.

Double Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker on Friday congratulated Indian para shooter Avani Lekhara for securing the gold medal at the Paris Paralympics. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), in collaboration with ITC Maurya, honored the Paris Olympics medalists in shooting, with Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh, and Swapnil Kusale attending the event in New Delhi.

Avani Lekhara, the reigning Paralympic champion, continued her impressive streak by clinching the gold in the women's 10m air rifle final at the Paris Paralympics. Speaking to reporters, Bhaker remarked that Avani's journey is profoundly inspiring. She emphasized the need for everyone to learn from the para-athletes who achieved medals on Friday.

"Avani's journey is very inspiring... as are the journeys of other Paralympians. They have overcome immense challenges to win medals for the country. We should all learn from this... I feel very proud... Congratulations to Avani," Bhaker stated. Shooter Mona Agarwal bagged a bronze medal in the women's 10m air rifle final, while Manish Narwal secured silver in the men's 10m air pistol SH1 event. Preeti Pal also clinched bronze in the 100m T35 event.

Paris Olympics medalist Sarabjot Singh mentioned his focus on winning medals at the forthcoming Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. "I feel good coming here... I aim to change the color of the medal... With back-to-back Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, that is our main focus," Sarabjot said.

Swapnil Kusale voiced pride in winning bronze for India and expressed his dream of clinching gold at the next Olympics. "I feel good about our country winning medals... The government has provided all necessary facilities. My dream is to win a gold medal; although it hasn't come true yet, I'll work hard to perform better in the next Olympics," Kusale said.

At the Paris Olympics, Manu Bhaker scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win two medals at the same Olympics. Bhaker and her partner Sarabjot Singh secured bronze in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed team event, defeating South Korea's Lee Wonho and Oh Ye Jin 16-10 in the bronze medal play-off. Both athletes consistently shot regular 10s in the series to secure India's second medal.

Bhaker initiated India's medal tally at the Olympics by securing third place in the women's 10m Air pistol event, becoming the first-ever woman shooter to win an Olympic medal for India. Later, Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh earned India's first-ever shooting team medal by winning bronze in the 10m air pistol (mixed team) event. In her final event, Bhaker narrowly missed out on a historic grand treble by finishing fourth in the women's 25m pistol shooting event. She missed the chance to become the first Indian to win three medals at the Olympics.

Meanwhile, Kusale secured bronze for India in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men's Final, finishing third with an aggregate of 451.4, achieving India's third overall shooting medal at the Games. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)