Paralympics 2024: Avani Lekhara, Preethi Pal in starring role as ...

Paralympics: India came up with a good show on Day 2 (Friday) of the 2024 Paralympics in Paris with four Indian athletes -- Avani Lekhara, Mona Agarwal, Preethi Pal and Manish Narwal -- bagging medals.

Reigning Paralympic champion Avani Lekhara struck gold in the women's 10m air rifle final at the Paris Paralympics on Friday. Mona Agarwal secured the bronze medal in the same event. In the 100m T35 event, Preeti clinched third place, winning the bronze medal with a time of 14.21 seconds. Manish Narwal earned the silver medal in the men's 10m air pistol SH1 category, accumulating 234.9 points despite initially dropping to sixth place during the competition.

Avani Lekhara's performance reinforced her status as a top competitor. Her consistency was evident as she added another gold medal to her accolades. Meanwhile, Mona Agarwal also showed prowess by securing the bronze, highlighting the strength of Indian shooters at the event.

Manish Narwal, after starting strong in the men's 10m air pistol SH1 event, faced mid-competition challenges, dropping to sixth place. However, his resilience paid off as he ultimately secured the silver medal with a score of 234.9 points.

Preethi Pal, competing in the 100m T35 event, finished in third place. Her time of 14.21 seconds earned her the bronze medal. This achievement adds another testament to India's growing presence in Paralympic athletics.

Preethi's bronze is India's first-ever athletics medal in a Paralympics track event. All the athletics medals India had won since the 1984 edition of the Paralympics came from field events.

This year, India has sent its largest Paralympics contingent ever, with 84 athletes competing across 12 sports. The country's expanding para-sports ecosystem is evident in this increased participation. The athletes aim to surpass their previous achievements in Tokyo as they participate in the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

Tokyo 2020 was India's most successful Paralympic Games, with the nation winning 19 medals. This included five golds, eight silvers, and six bronzes.