Toyota, 19 October (H.S.): Indian shooters Mona Agarwal and Avani Lekhara opened India’s medal account at the Asian Para Games 2026 on Monday, winning gold and silver, respectively, in the women’s 10-metre air rifle standing SH1 event. Mona claimed the gold medal with a score of 250 points in the final, while Avani finished second with 249.6 points.

Mona produced an impressive comeback in the final to secure the gold medal. Although she was placed fifth at one stage, she delivered a superb shooting performance to climb to the top of the standings, outpacing the other competitors. South Korea’s Yunri Lee won the bronze medal with 227.9 points.

With this performance, Mona also broke Avani Lekhara’s previous Asian Para Games record. Avani had scored 249.6 points while winning gold at the previous edition of the Games in Hangzhou. However, Mona fell short of the world record of 252 points, held by Slovakia’s Veronika Vadovicova?

The medal also secured Avani a quota place for the 2028 Paralympic Games. Mona had already secured a Paralympic quota place at the World Championships last month.

**Indian Shooters Dominate Qualification Round**

Earlier, Mona and Avani had also delivered impressive performances in the qualification round. Mona topped the standings with 629.1 points after six series, setting a new Asian Para Games qualification record. She surpassed the previous mark held by China’s Zhang Cuiping and finished just 0.3 points short of the world record.

The world record of 629.4 points is jointly held by Avani and Slovakia’s Veronika Vadovicova.

Avani finished second in the qualification round with 626.4 points. Both Indian shooters therefore entered the final in first and second place, respectively, and carried their strong form into the medal contest.

**Both Mona and Avani Have Also Won Medals at the Paris Paralympics**

Last month, Mona won the silver medal in the women’s R2 10-metre air rifle standing SH1 event at the World Shooting Para Sport Championships held in Changwon, South Korea, scoring 250 points. Avani secured the bronze medal in the same competition with 229.4 points, while Serbia’s Kristina Trifunovic won gold with 250.2 points.

Mona won a bronze medal at the Paris Paralympics in 2024. Avani, meanwhile, has won three Paralympic medals. At the Tokyo Paralympics, she claimed gold in the women’s 10-metre air rifle SH1 event and bronze in the 50-metre rifle three positions SH1 event. She subsequently won gold in the 10-metre air rifle SH1 event at the Paris Paralympics.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar