Paralympics 2024: Historic medals of Avani, Preethi and other highlights from Day 2

As the 2024 Paralympic Games progress, Day 2 brought a whirlwind of excitement and historic achievements.

India’s shooting team illuminated the stage with Avani Lekhara’s remarkable victory, making history as the first Indian woman para-athlete to win medals at consecutive Paralympics and to defend a title successfully.

Her compatriot Mona Agarwal’s bronze in the 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 added to the nation's pride.

Here's what unfolded on day 2 of the Paralympic games:

Para Shooting:

India’s shooting team shone brightly today. Avani Lekhara and Mona Agarwal delivered a historic double podium finish in the 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 category, with Avani clinching gold and Mona taking bronze.

Avani’s gold makes her the first Indian woman para-athlete to win medals at consecutive Paralympics and the first to secure three medals across editions.

She also becomes the first Indian para-athlete to successfully defend a title at any Paralympics.

In the 10m Air Pistol SH1 event, Manish Narwal earned a silver medal with a score of 234.9, finishing behind South Korea’s Jeongdu Jo but ahead of China’s Chao Yang.

Para Rowing:

In the PR3 Mixed Double Sculls, Anita and Narayana Konganapalle finished fifth in their heat with a time of 8:06.84s. Their performance means they will need to excel in the repechage round on Saturday to secure a spot in the medal round.

A top-two finish in the repechage is required to advance to Final A; otherwise, they will compete in Final B to determine their final ranking.

Badminton:

Mansi Joshi’s campaign ended with a 21-10, 15-21, 21-23 loss to Ukraine’s Oksana Kozyna in the SL3 category, marking her second defeat and eliminating her from medal contention.

In the men’s SL3 category, Manoj Sarkar was defeated by Thailand’s Mongkhon Bunsun and exited the competition.

Nitesh Kumar, however, secured a straight-sets victory over China’s Jianyuan Yang, topping his group and advancing to the Semi-Finals. In the SL4 category, Suhas Yathiraj defeated South Korea’s Kyung Hwan Shin in straight games, progressing to the Semi-Finals with an unbeaten record.

Palak Kohli, in the women’s SL4 category, lost to Indonesia’s Leani Oktika, finishing with one win and one loss in her group.

Para Archery:

In archery, Sarita advanced to the round of 16 in the women’s individual compound archery open event after a convincing 138-124 win over Malaysian Abdul Jalil.

Rakesh Kumar, the world No. 1, also moved to the round of 16 in the men’s compound archery event with a 136-131 victory over Aliou Drame.

Para Athletics:

Preethi Pal made history by winning India’s first-ever track event medal at the Paralympics, claiming bronze in the women’s 100m T35 with a personal best of 14.21s. The gold and silver medals went to China’s Zhou Xia and Guo Qianqian.

Preethi will have another opportunity to medal in the women’s 200m T35 on September 1.

In the Women’s Discuss Throw F55 category, Sakshi Kasana and Karmjyoti finished fourth and fifth with throws of 21.49m and 20.22m, respectively.

Para Table Tennis:

In Women’s Doubles WD10, the Indian pair of Bhavina Patel and Sonalben Patel were defeated 3-1 by South Korea’s Jung Young and Moon Sunghye.

Para Cycling:

Track cyclists Arshad Shaik and Jyothi Gaderiya were eliminated in their respective qualifying rounds. Arshad clocked 4:20.949s in the men’s C2 3000m event, while Jyothi was also eliminated in the women’s C1-3 3000m.

Both cyclists will have another chance in the upcoming 500m time trial for Jyothi and the C1-3 1000m time trial for Arshad on August 31.