India’s ace shooter Avani Lekhara entered the final of the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 competition after finishing the qualification in seventh place at the ongoing Paralympics on Tuesday. The other Indian shooter in the field, Mona Agarwal, however, could not clear the qualification hurdle and ended in the 13th position. Avani shot a total of 1159 across the three stages of kneeling, prone and standing while Mona aggregated 1147. The top eight shooters from the qualification progress to the finals.

This SH1 class is designated for athletes with lower limb impairment for competition in rifle shooting events.

After kneeling and prone, Avani was holding on to the eighth position and Mona was 15th. Having started the standing stage with a disappointing 92, back-to back series of 96 lifted her into the seventh position, and a 97, in the last series, further brightened her prospects of reaching the final.

The 22-year-old Avani, paralysed waist-down owing to a car accident that she suffered as an 11-year-old, claimed a landmark gold medal in the women’s 10m air rifle SH1 event last Friday. In the same event, Mona bagged a bronze.

She 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 249.7 in the final.

However, Avani could not replicate that form in the mixed 10m air prone SH1 event on Sunday, and ended the competition in the 11th position with a total score of 632.8.

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