Paris Paralympics: Avani Lekhara becomes first female para-athlete to win three individual medals

Indian athlete Avani Lekhara became the first female para-athlete to win three individual medals at the Paralympics after she won gold in the women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 Finals on August 30, at Chateauroux - Final Range.

Lekhara broke her own record of 249.6 that she achieved in Tokyo three years ago with a score of 249.7.

India won two medals in the shooting event as Mona Agarwal, 36, clinched a bronze medal. 

South Korea's Lee Yunri was leading the final, seeking to snatch the gold medal away from Avani, however, she shot a 6.8 in her final attempt while Avani shot 10.5.

Mona Agarwal also took the bronze medal with 228.7 after securing a 10.6 in the first of the two shots in her last round. 

Meanwhile, Preethi Pal won India's first medal in track and field at the Paris Paralympics and it's first-ever in a track event at the Games. She won a bronze medal in the women's 100m T35 final after setting a new best timing of 14.21 seconds at Stade de France on August 30. 

On the other hand, shooter Manish Narwal also won India's third medal in shooting at the Paris Paralympics 2024 as he secured silver in the Men's 10m Air Pistol SH1 Final. 

Manish scored 234.9 points and gave a tough competition to Korea's Jeongdu Jo, who secured the gold medal with a total of 237.4 points.