Medals galore for India on Day 2 at Paris Paralympics

Chatearoux: India celebrated a historic day at the Paralympics with remarkable achievements across the board. Avani Lekhara made history as the first Indian to win consecutive Paralympic gold medals, delivering a record-breaking performance in the women’s 10m air rifle (SH1) shooting event. She was joined on the podium by Mona Agarwal, who clinched a bronze medal, marking a historic double for the country.

In other events, Manish Narwal secured a silver medal after a close final against South Korea's Jo Jeongdu. Earlier, Preethi Pal earned a bronze medal in the women's T35 100m race. It was a day of triumph and glory for India, showcasing its growing prowess in the Paralympics.

Narwal shot a total of 565 to enter the eight-man final.

The 22-year-old Narwal won the gold medal in the mixed 50m pistol SH1 event at the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago.

Besides Paralympics, Narwal, who hails form Faridabad, won several medals, including gold, silver and bronze in national and international tournaments.

Avani Lekhara scripts history

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.

The 37-year-old 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.

But the committed shooter, who is an assistant conservator of forest with the Rajasthan government, did not let health concerns distract her from her aim of Paralympic glory.

She lost quite a bit of weight following the surgery but the determination to overcome all odds was all too evident during the national camp at the Karni Singh ranges, where she worked hard on regaining her strength and mentally steeling herself for Paris.

Preethi Pal wins bronze in women's T35 100m event

India's Preethi Pal won a bronze medal in the women's T35 100m event with a personal best time of 14.21 seconds at the Paralympics here on Friday.

The 23-year-old Preethi's bronze is India's first medal from para-athletics in the Paris Paralympics.

China's Zhou Xia (13.58) and Guo Qianqian (13.74) won the gold and silver respectively.

PTI