Rubina Francis earned India’s fourth medal from the shooting range, showing tremendous calm and composure in a tough competition to clinch a bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol SH1 event in the Paris Paralympics on Saturday.

Competing in a top-class field consisting of the defending champion and world record holder among others, the 25-year-old Rubina held her own to score a total of 211.1 for a third-place finish in the eight-woman final.

She had qualified for the final at the seventh spot.

Iran’s Javanmardi Sareh won her third successive Paralympics gold with a total score of 236.8, while world record holder Ozgan Aysel of Turkey took the silver with 231.1.

Rubina’s medal was India’s fourth in shooting and fifth overall at the Paris Paralympics. She is India’s first woman pistol shooter to win a Paralympic medal.

On Friday, Avani Lekhara had created history by successfully defending her women’s 10m air rifle gold medal, with compatriot Mona Agarwal winning the bronze. Manish Narwal then added a silver medal in the men’s 10m air pistol (SH1).

In SH1 class, athletes are able to hold their gun without difficulty and shoot from a standing or sitting position in a wheelchair or chair.

Rubina had secured the Paris Paralympics quota under the bipartite (wildcard) rule a few days before the contingent’s departure for the French capital.

A daughter of a mechanic in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Rubina was born clubfooted. She took up the sport, inspired by her admiration for legendary Indian shooter Gagan Narang’s Olympic achievements.

Her story is one of resilience, determination and the transformative power of sport in overcoming adversity. This is her second Paralympics, having finished seventh in the final in Tokyo three years ago.

Rubina was consistent all through the final. She was third at the end of stage 1 of 10 shots with 97.6 with Ozgan leading with 99.5. The Indian briefly slipped to the fourth spot at the end of the 14th shot. But, she recovered and returned to the third spot in the next series of two shots.

Born into a lower-middle-class family, Rubina faced the added obstacle of leg dysfunction. She joined the Gun for Glory Academy — founded by Gagan Narang — in 2017.

Under the mentorship of Jai Prakash Nautiyal and Subhash Rana, she made quick progress and was selected for the MP Shooting Academy.

Shuttlers shine

Shuttlers Nitesh Kumar and Sukant Kadam qualified for the semi-finals of men’s singles SL3 and SL4 categories, respectively, after recording straight-game wins in their last group matches. Suhas Yathiraj too has reached the semis in the SL4 category.

The SL3 class is for players with severe lower limb disability, competing on a half-width court. The SL4 class is for athletes with lower limb impairments and minor balance issues in walking or running.