CHATEAUROUX: India's ace shooter Avani Lekhara has entered the final of the women's 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 competition after finishing the qualification in seventh place at the ongoing Paralympics here on Tuesday.
Avani shot a total of 1159 across the three stages of kneeling, prone, and standing. In the final standing stage, despite starting with a disappointing 92, back-to-back series of 96 lifted her into seventh place, and a final series score of 97 further brightened her prospects of reaching the final.
The top eight shooters from the qualification progress to the finals.
The other Indian shooter in the field, Mona Agarwal, however, could not clear the qualification hurdle and ended in 13th position with a total score of 1147. After kneeling and prone stages, Mona was in 15th place, but could not advance further.
This SH1 class is designated for athletes with lower limb impairment for competition in rifle shooting events.
The 22-year-old Avani, paralyzed waist-down owing to a car accident she suffered as an 11-year-old, claimed a landmark gold medal in the women’s 10m air rifle SH1 event last Friday. In that event, Mona had bagged a bronze. Avani successfully defended her title three years after taking the Tokyo Games by storm, becoming the first Indian woman to win two gold medals at the Paralympic Games with a record score of 249.
However, Avani could not replicate that form in the mixed 10m air prone SH1 event on Sunday and ended the competition in 11th position with a total score of 632.