After a golden start at the Paris Paralympics, India’s para shooting stars Avani Lekhara and Mona Agarwal faced a challenging day at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre on Tuesday. Both shooters, who had raised hopes with their stellar performances in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1, couldn’t replicate their magic in the 50m Rifle Three Positions SH1.
Following her gold on the opening day, Avani just managed to scrape into the final, finishing 7th in the qualification with a score of 1159. Mona, who had claimed bronze earlier, struggled in the qualifiers, ending her campaign at 13th place out of 16 with a score of 1147.
In the final, Avani started strong and was positioned second during the initial stages. However, she couldn’t maintain her momentum, ultimately slipping to 5th place with a score of 420.6. This result dashed her hopes of improving her Tokyo show as a bronze medalist in the event.
The competition was fierce, with top shooters like Sweden’s Anna Benson, the Paralympic Qualification record holder, and Ukraine’s Iryna Shchetnik, another Qualification record holder, in the mix. Anna, who had secured silver in the 50m Rifle Prone SH1 at Tokyo, led the qualification round with a score of 1175. She was followed by Slovakia’s four-time Paralympic gold medallist Veronika Vadovicova at 1169, and China’s Cuiping Zhang, also a multiple gold medallist, at 1167. Iryna secured 4th place with a score of 1165.
The final was a test of nerves, and Germany’s Natascha Hiltrop emerged as the best, clinching gold with a score of 456.5. Veronika Vadovicova, who pushed Hiltrop hard, had to settle for silver with a score of 456.1, while Cuiping Zhang took bronze with 446. Avani’s 5th place finish highlighted the intense competition she faced.
The disappointment was not Avani’s alone. Korea’s world record holder Yunri Lee also faltered, finishing 7th in the final with a score of 398.7.
Surely, Avani would have hoped for a brighter end to her run in Paris as Tuesday’s miss came on the back of the 11th finish in Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 on Sunday with a score of 632.8.