Sunday, 15 September 2024
Sunday, 15 September 2024
India secured its first two medals in Paris paralympics on Friday, with Avani Lekhara winning a gold medal in the 10m Air Rifle category, followed by Mona Agarwal bagging a bronze in the same event.
Manish Narwal earned a silver medal in the 10m Air Pistol category, while Preethi Pal brought home a bronze in the Women's 100m race.
India currently occupies the 17th spot in the overall standings.
Let's take a look at the journey of these medallists and how they broke their physical barriers to succeed in the global sporting stage.
Avani Lekhara - Gold in Women’s 10m air rifle final (SH1)
In 2013, Lekhara, then 11-years-old, was left wheelchair bound because of a car accident that left her paralysed below the waist. But that didn’t deter her from succeeding on the international stage.
The bespectacled Avani triumphed in a final which went down to the wire, beating South Korea’s Lee Yunri. It was the first time India had a double podium finish in the same event at the Paralympic Games.
She became the first Indian to win two successive Paralympic gold medals with a record-breaking performance that cemented her place as one of the finest para-shooters in the world.
The champion shooter from Jaipur endured a tough buildup to the Paris Games. She grappled with a host of health issues, including a gallbladder surgery in March, which forced her to take a break of one and half months.
Avani is the second Indian after javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia to win two gold medals at the Games. Overall, this is India’s 10th gold medal in paralympics.
Avani Lekhara will compete in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 and the mixed 10m air rifle prone SH1 events at the Paris 2024 Paralympics next.
The SH1 category is for athletes who have movement affected in their arms, lower trunk, legs or have no limbs.
Mona Agarwal - Bronze in Women's 10m Air Rifle Standing (SH1)
Born in a conservative family in Sikar, Rajasthan, Mona Agarwal was struck by polio at a very early age, which left her wheelchair-ridden. The 37-year-old Mona’s extraordinary para shooting journey began in December 2021. She earned her first World Cup gold medal in 2024, along with an Asian record and a Paralympic medal.
In her debut Games, the shooter won the bronze medal in the 10m Air Rifle Standing SH 1.
In March 2024, Mona won the gold in the Para Shooting World Cup in New Delhi, which also helped her win the Paris quota. She then paired up with Aadithya Giri to claim the mixed team air rifle standing (SH1) event silver medal in Delhi and followed that with another gold in the Para Shooting World Cup in Korea one month later.
Mona, who dabbled in multiple sports including shot-put, powerlifting and wheelchair volleyball before settling on shooting, secured a third-place finish on Friday.
Manish Narwal - Silver in Men's 10m Air Pistol (SH1)
A medical-treatment error by doctors at the time of Manish’s birth resulted in nerve damage of right shoulder and hampered movement of his right arm.
India's Manish Narwal clinched a silver medal in the men's 10m Air Pistol SH1 finishing behind South Korea's Jeongdu Jo, who won the gold.
Manish, who comes from a family of shooters and is the recipient of the highest sporting honour the Khel Ratna, had qualified for the final in fifth place.
The 22-year-old, who bagged a gold in the Mixed 50m Pistol event in the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, held the first spot in the final after an initial round of shots in stage 2 but lost his lead to Jeongdu to finish second.He ranks fourth in the world in Men's 10m Air Pistol SH1 according to the World Shooting Para Sport Rankings.
Preethi Pal - Bronze in Women's 100m (T35)
Born to a farmer's family in rural Uttar Pradesh, Preethi’s lower body had to be plastered for six days after birth. Weak legs and an irregular leg posture mean she was prone to various diseases.
Preethi had to start wearing callipers at the age of five and wore them for eight years.
Preethi Pal won India's first athletics medal in a Paralympics track event as she clinched a bronze in the women's T35 100m competition.
T35 classification is meant for athletes who have coordination impairments such as hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis, as well as cerebral palsy.
The 23-year-old finished third in the final with a time of 14.21 seconds, which is also her personal best. She had come to Paris after winning a bronze in the same event at the World Para Athletics Championships in May.
"More glory for India as Preethi Pal wins a Bronze medal in the 100m T35 event at the #Paralympics2024. Congratulations to her. This success will certainly motivate budding athletes," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
