In the men’s shot put F40 final at the Paris Paralympics on Sunday, India’s Ravi Rongali finished fifth with a personal best throw of 10.63 metres, narrowly missing out on a potential medal. There was a setback in the Para Rowing PR3 Mixed Double Sculls Final as well, India’s Anita and Narayana Konganapalle’s Paris Paralympics 2024 campaign was cut short on Sunday. With a timing of 8:16.96 and an overall 8th position finish, they finished 2nd in Final B.
Also, India’s Rakshita Raju who participated in the para athletics women’s 1500m T11-Round 1 run, Heat 3, could not qualify for the Finals as she finished 4th with a timing of 5:29.92.
So far, India has secured a total of five medals at the ongoing Paris Paralympics, with one gold medal, a silver, and three bronze medals.Rubina finished third and bagged a bronze medal in the P2-Women’s 10M Air Pistol SH-1 final on Saturday. She gathered a total of 211.1 points in the final.
On Friday, reigning Paralympic champion, Avani Lekhara maintained her winning streak and struck gold in the women’s 10m air rifle final at the ongoing Paris Paralympics. Shooter Mona Agarwal bagged the bronze medal at the same event.
Lekhara dominated the final of the women’s 10m air rifle and secured the top place with 249.7 points, which is also her personal best. India’s silver medal came in shooting as well, with Manish Narwal getting a silver in the men’s P1 10 m air pistol SH1 competition.
Preeti secured third place and won the bronze medal in the T35 100m race after clocking 14.21 seconds, which is also her personal best. 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.
Tokyo 2020 was India’s most successful Paralympic Games, with the country winning 19 medals, including five golds, eight silver and six bronzes.