INDIA were off to a spectacular start at the Asian Para Games with medals, including four gold, pouring in from four different sports following assured performances by established names like wheelchair-bound shooter Mona Agarwal and long jumper Nishad Kumar here on Monday. In all, India collected 11 medals -- four gold, five silver and two bronze -- to be fourth in the overall standings. The medal rush began quite early in the day with Mona staging a stirring comeback in the women’s 10m air rifle (SH1) final to beat compatriot Avani Lekhara for the gold. Mona, a bronze-medallist at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, climbed from sixth place to set an Asian Para Games record of 250.0, edging two-time Paralympic champion Avani by a mere 0.4 points. The 24-year-old Avani, who entered as the defending champion, settled for the silver with 249.6.

 

Her medal also secured India a second quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics, with Mona having already earned one at the World Shooting Para Sport (WSPS) World Championships in Changwon, South Korea last month where she won a silver. Mona set the pace in qualification, topping the eight-shooter field with 629.1 to establish an Asian Para Games qualification record. Avani was second with 626.4. The evening belonged to the para-athletics competitors with two-time Paralympic silver-winner Nishad Kumar, middle-distance runner Soumya, and javelin thrower Rinku finishing on top in their respective competitions.

 

For Nishad, it was a very special performance as he was competing in an international long jump event for the first time in his career. Nishad, whose right arm was severed by a grass-cutting machine in an accident when he was a mere six, leapt 7.11m to claim the top spot. In the women’s 1500m T12/T13 event, the visually impaired Soumya clocked a personal best of 5:12.39sec to win the gold ahead of compatriot Venkatesh Radha (5:30.90sec). In the most severe category of T11 for the visually impaired, India’s Ravanni Valasanaini ended with a bronze after the original third-place finisher Rakshitha Raju was disqualified for a technical violation that covers non-compliance in relation to clothing, shoes, and bibs. In the F46 men’s javelin throw, India dominated a three-man field with Rinku and Ajeet Singh bagging the gold and silver with efforts of 65.11m and 65.02m respectively. It was a season’s best throw for both the Indians.