Asian Para Games 2026: Shooter Mona Agarwal Wins Gold, Avani Lekhara Silver as India Opens Medal Tally
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Indian shooters Mona Agarwal and Avani Lekhara won gold and silver respectively in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event at the Asian Para Games on Monday, giving India its first medals at the ongoing Games.
Mona set a new Asian Para Games record with a score of 250 to claim gold, while Avani finished second with 249.6. South Korea’s Yunri Lee took bronze with 227.9 at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery.
Mona staged a remarkable comeback in the final after slipping to fifth place, climbing back into contention before holding off her rivals to secure the title.
Mona Breaks Avani’s Previous Games Record
Mona’s score of 250 surpassed the previous Asian Para Games record of 249.6 set by Avani when she won gold at the Hangzhou Games. She fell short of the world record of 252 held by Slovakia’s Iryna Shchetnik.
Both Indians had dominated the qualification round earlier in the day. Mona topped the standings with 629.1 points across six series, setting a new Asian Para Games qualification record and surpassing the previous mark held by China’s Zhang Cuiping.
Mona narrowly missed the world record of 629.4, jointly held by Avani and Slovakia’s Veronika Vadovicova. Avani qualified in second place with 626.4 points, setting up an all-Indian battle for gold and silver in the final.
Both Shooters Secure LA 2028 Paralympic Quota Places
Avani Lekhara secured a quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics with her performance at the Asian Para Games, while Mona Agarwal had already secured one at the World Shooting Para Sport Championships in Changwon last month.
At the World Championships, Mona won silver in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event with 250 points, while Avani took bronze with 229.4. Serbia’s Kristina Trifunovic won gold with 250.2.
Mona won bronze at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, while Avani is a three-time Paralympic medallist, having won two golds and a bronze across the Tokyo and Paris Games.
