Sports/Alive News: India made an impressive start at the Asian Para Games, winning 11 medals, including four gold medals, on the opening day, according to the supplied report. Indian athletes delivered strong performances in athletics, shooting, archery and other events, bringing pride to the country.
Rinku won gold in the men’s javelin throw F46 event, while Ajeet Singh claimed silver. In the women’s 1,500-metre T12/T13 race, Saumya secured gold and Venkatesh Radha won silver. In shooting, Mona Agarwal won gold and Avani Lekhara took silver in the women’s R2 10-metre air rifle SH1 event. Nishad Kumar also won gold in the men’s T47 long jump.
Rinku and Ajeet Win Gold and Silver in Javelin
India’s Rinku won the gold medal in the men’s F46 javelin throw with a season-best performance of 65.11 metres. Ajeet Singh finished second with a throw of 65.02 metres, securing the silver medal. Indonesia’s Rizal Bagus Saktiyono won bronze with a personal-best throw of 55.30 metres.
Saumya Wins Gold in 1,500-Metre Race
Indian athlete Saumya won gold in the women’s 1,500-metre T12/T13 race, completing the event in a personal-best time of 5 minutes and 12.39 seconds. She competed with guide Bharat Kumar.
Venkatesh Radha won silver with a time of 5 minutes and 30.90 seconds, running alongside guide Govind Solanki. Japan’s Mana Sasaki finished third.
Nishad Kumar Claims Long Jump Gold
Nishad Kumar won gold in the men’s T47 long jump with a best effort of 7.11 metres. He achieved the same distance twice during the final. Uzbekistan’s Omadbek Khasanov took silver with 6.99 metres, while Sri Lanka’s Mohamed Safran won bronze with 6.55 metres.
Mona Agarwal Beats Avani Lekhara in Shooting Final
India secured both gold and silver in the women’s R2 10-metre air rifle SH1 event. Mona Agarwal won gold with 250.0 points, narrowly beating fellow Indian shooter Avani Lekhara, who scored 249.6 points. South Korea’s Yunri Lee won bronze with 227.9 points.
The contest between the two Indian shooters went down to the final shot. Mona scored 10.8 points on her last attempt, while Avani scored 10.5, giving Mona the victory.
Avani’s silver medal also secured an additional quota place for India at the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics, according to the supplied report. Mona had already secured a quota place through an earlier international competition.
Mona and Avani’s Inspiring Journeys
Mona Agarwal, born in Rajasthan, contracted polio at nine months of age, which affected both her legs. Before taking up para-shooting in December 2021, she competed in para-athletics and para-powerlifting and played an important role in women’s sitting volleyball. She captained Rajasthan’s women’s sitting volleyball team to gold at the 2019 National Sitting Volleyball Championship.
Mona later achieved success at international shooting events, winning World Cup medals and a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. She received the Arjuna Award in 2024.
Avani Lekhara suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident in 2012, when she was 10 years old. Inspired by Olympic shooting champion Abhinav Bindra’s autobiography, A Shot at History, she took up shooting in 2015. She went on to become one of India’s leading para-shooters.
Kokila Wins Silver in Para Judo
India’s Kokila won silver in the women’s J2 under-52 kg judo category. She defeated China’s reigning world champion Liu Yi in the semi-final through a golden-score contest but lost the final to Kyrgyzstan’s Ulanbek Kyzy.
Kapil Parmar of Madhya Pradesh won bronze in the men’s J1 under-70 kg category. He defeated Indonesia’s Hanafi Rafli Shidqi by ippon.
Sheetal Devi Creates Records in Archery
Indian archer Sheetal Devi delivered an outstanding performance in the women’s compound qualification event, scoring 704 out of 720 points. According to the supplied report, she equalled the world record and set a new Asian record, improving the previous mark of 698 points.
Sheetal hit the target’s innermost scoring zone 32 times. Along with Payal, she helped India top the women’s compound team qualification with a combined score of 1,379 points, ahead of China’s 1,338.
Payal finished fifth in the individual qualification with 675 points. She had earlier won gold at the World Archery Para Series in Bangkok.
Sheetal also teamed up with Toman Kumar in the compound mixed-team ranking round. Their combined score of 1,402 points bettered the previous world record of 1,400 points, which Sheetal had set with Rakesh Kumar.
India Assures Three Medals in Para Table Tennis
India also made progress in para table tennis, with three players securing places that guaranteed medals, according to the report.
Baby Sahana Ravi defeated Kazakhstan’s Altynay Yerzhankyzy 3-0 in a women’s singles Class 9 group match. Prachi Pandey defeated Thailand’s Kanokporn Phathumchai 3-1 in Class 6, while Sonalben Patel beat Thailand’s Dararat Asayut 3-1 in the Class 3 quarter-final.
Indian Para-Badminton Players Reach Quarter-Finals
Indian para-shuttlers Sivarajan Solaimalai and Krishna Nagar advanced to the quarter-finals of the men’s singles SH6 event. Sivarajan defeated Brunei’s Faiq Zali in straight games, while Krishna also progressed to the last eight despite losing his match against China’s Naili Lin, as stated in the supplied report.
India’s performances across several sports highlighted the strength and determination of its para-athletes, with further medal opportunities ahead in the competition.
