India's Paralympic Hopes Shine Despite Setbacks in Paris 2024

Despite facing challenges in Paris, India's Paralympians secure five medals. Key performances include Ravi Rongali's personal best in shot put and Avani Lekhara's gold in air rifle. Challenges persist, but India shows growing strength in para-sports with its largest ever contingent.

In the men's shot put F40 final at the Paris Paralympics on Sunday, India's Ravi Rongali secured a fifth-place finish with a personal best throw of 10.63 metres, narrowly missing a podium spot. The Para Rowing PR3 Mixed Double Sculls Final saw a setback for India as Anita and Narayana Konganapalle's campaign was cut short on Sunday.

Clocking 8:16.96 and finishing second in Final B, they secured an overall eighth position. In para athletics, Rakshita Raju's attempt in the women's 1500m T11-Round 1 Heat 3 saw her finish fourth with a timing of 5:29.92, missing the Finals.

India has bagged five medals at the ongoing Paris Paralympics so far, amassing one gold, one silver, and three bronze medals. On Saturday, Rubina clinched a bronze in the P2-Women's 10M Air Pistol SH-1 final with 211.1 points. Avani Lekhara continued her winning spree, striking gold in the women's 10m air rifle final on Friday, tallying a personal best of 249.7 points. Shooter Mona Agarwal earned bronze in the same event.

Lekhara's masterful performance in the 10m air rifle final secured top honors with 249.7 points. The silver medal in shooting was won by Manish Narwal in the men's P1 10m air pistol SH1 competition. Meanwhile, Preeti clocked a personal best of 14.21 seconds in the T35 100m race to clinch bronze.

This year, India has sent its largest-ever Paralympics delegation, with 84 athletes competing across 12 sports, highlighting the burgeoning para-sports ecosystem in the country. India's participation in the Paris 2024 Paralympics marks a significant boost in both numbers and medal aspirations, as the nation aims to surpass its Tokyo Paralympic achievements, where they won 19 medals, including five golds.

(With inputs from agencies.)