Paralympics 2024: Indian shooters kickstart medal rush with glory, loved ones and redemption in mind

Be it the Olympics or the Paralympics, shooting has seen encouraging results for the Indian contingent at the Paris Summer Games. Avani Lekhara, Mona Agarwal and Manish Narwal all made the podium on the first day of shooting on Friday.

Avani became the first Indian to claim successive Paralympic gold medals, defending her women’s 10m air rifle (SH1) title. Mona won bronze in the same event, making it a historic double for the country.

Avani, 22, shot a superb 249.7 to erase her own Paralympic record of 249.6 set in the Tokyo Games three years ago.

In qualification, Avani shot a 625.8 to be placed second behind Ukraine Iryna Shchetnik, who broke the Paralympic qualification record with a score of 627.5. Mona, the two-time World Cup gold medallist, shot 623.1 to be placed fifth.

Follow | Paralympics 2024, Shooting Highlights

The elimination rounds were a tense affair. Avani and Mona managed to stay composed and watch as the field narrowed down with each passing round.

By the fourth round, Avani (187.0) and Mona (186.8) were in the top two positions, assuring a medal for India. Mona overtook Avani in the fifth round as the pair confirmed two medals for the nation. But in the end, Avani’s experience came in handy with Korea’s Lee Yunri wedging between the pair to take the second spot.

In the shootout, Avani began with a 9.9 while Lee shot 10.7. But Lee’s nerves took over as she managed a poor 6.8 in the next shot, while Avani managed 10.5, sealing her second gold on the trot.

The Jaipur-born shooter had a challenging run-up to the Olympics, having gone under the knife for a long-standing gallbladder issue. That procedure forced her to take a break for a month and a half.

“It mentally hampered me because I am not training months away from the Paralympics,” Avani told Sportstar in a video call from Chateauroux.

“Even though it’s a small surgery, a lot of core muscles weren’t working the way they were before and so I had to work on that more. My team worked heavily to get me back on track.”

In terms of medal count, Avani is now tied with para athletes Joginder Singh Bedi and Devendra Jhajharia for most medals at the games, all this in just her second Paralympic edition.

Mona, who is featuring in her debut Paralympics, had a challenging start to a life in sports. A conservative community not only viewed girl children unfavourably, but also treated her with disdain due to her polio affliction.

Mona found shooting after dabbling in a range of other disciplines like shot put, discus throw, javelin throw and weightlifting.

“I started shooting only 2.5 years back and within that time, I’ve reached this platform. I feel very grateful,” she said after the win.

For Mona, the medal validates her struggles and constant battles against society and circumstances.

“They (family, community) are all very excited. In 2010, I left my home to fulfil my dreams. At that time, they all objected and said they won’t accept me again and won’t let me enter the house again. There were so many restrictions. But now they’re all celebrating with me. It feels great,” she told Sportstar.

The 37-year-old mother of two is excited to share the triumph with her children who she has had to spend time away from.

“When I left for practice, I had to leave my kids behind. Everyday, they’d video call me and tell me how much they missed having me over. They said, ‘GPS lagake ghar vaapas aajao.’ I cried at least once everyday speaking to them. So that was incredibly difficult. The second (challenge) was the financial struggle associated with taking up sport,” she added.

Avani and Mona both have events left in the Paris Games, with Avani competing in the Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1, and Mona in Women’s 50m Rifle 3 positions SH1, Mixed 50m Prone SH1. They will need to steer clear from all distractions to focus on similar results in those brackets.

“We already have (kept the win aside and moved on),” a poker-faced Avani exclaimed.

Manish, who won gold in the Tokyo Games in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 event, missed out on the podium top step this time. However, his run to silver was nothing short of commendable.

After placing sixth at the end of the first series, Manish slowly moved upwards in the standings as shooters began getting eliminated with each passing round.

After taking the top spot at the end of the third elimination round with a score of 158, he slipped to second in the fourth, with Korea’s Jo Jeongdu overtaking him. He maintained his second place standing and earned the right to shoot out for gold. However, his first shot in the final round was an agonising 8.9 to Jo’s 10.8. Manish never recovered, with the Korean clinching gold.

“Whatever be the medal, I put in my full effort. I gave my hundred per cent. I am not disappointed. I don’t have regrets. The medal itself is a big matter of joy,” Manish said after the win.

In Tokyo, Manish had his elder brother Manjeet Singh by his side to celebrate his triumph. However, Manjeet tragically passed away in a road accident in 2022.

“Last time when I won a medal in Tokyo, we danced and celebrated the entire night. Now, I am missing him a lot. He’s gone but his memories are with me,” he told Sportstar, struggling to hold back his tears. Manish had Paralympic Committee of India president Devendra Jhajharia by his side consoling him.

“I just kept thinking that I have to give my best. No matter what happens, I didn’t want to give up.”