Paralympics 2024: Avani Lekhara Finishes 11th in Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 Qualfication, Fails to Qualify For Final

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Multi-time Paralympic medallist Avani Lekhara on Sunday (September 1) failed to qualify for the final of the mixed R3 10m air rifle prone SH1 event after finishing eleventh in the qualification round.

Avani, who won the gold medal in women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 event earlier in the week, could not follow up on her good showing as she shot a total of 632.8 to finish in 11th, just 1.0 away from sealing a qualification spot.

In her six series, Lekhara shot 105.7, 106.0, 104.1, 106.0, 104.8 and 106.2. She will now hope to bounce back in her final event at the Paris Paralympics when she competes in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions event on Tuesday (September 3).

Apart from Lekhara, India's Sidhartha Babu also failed to qualify for the final in the mixed 10m air rifle prone event. Babu finished 28th with a total of 628.3. In his six series, Babu shot 104.6, 103.8, 105.7, 104.9, 103.6 and 105.7.

Slovakia's Veronika Vadovicova topped the qualification round with 637.8 points. Meanwhile, Spain's Juan Antonio Saavedra Reinaldo and Ukraine's Iryna Shchetnik held the second and third place with 637.3 and 636.9 points respectively.

Shooting has been the most productive sport for India in the ongoing Paralympic Games, winning 4 off the 5 medals so far. Lekhara won gold in the women's R2 10m air rifle standing event, in which compatriot Mona Agarwal won bronze.

Manish Narwal later added a silver in the men's P1 10m air pistol SH1 event on Friday (August 30), while Rubina Francis clinched bronze in the women's P2 10m air pistol SH1 event on Saturday (August 31).

Sriharsha Davareddi, Rudransh Khandelwal and Swaroop Unhalkar failed to qualify for their respective event finals, but the former two will hope to land a medal in other events.

This year, India has sent its largest Paralympics contingent ever, comprising 84 athletes across 12 sports, a testament to the country's expanding para-sports ecosystem.

India's participation in the Paris 2024 Paralympics marks not only a significant increase in numbers but also in medal hopes, as the nation aims to surpass its previous achievements in Tokyo.