Ace Indian shooter Avani Lekhara falls just short of 2nd Paralympic medal

PARIS: Ace Indian shooter Avani Lekhara missed out on a second medal at the ongoing Paralympic Games and finished fifth after putting up a strong fight in the final of the women's 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 competition in Paris on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old Avani, paralysed waist-down owing to a car accident she suffered as an 11-year-old, shot a total of 420.6 across the three stages of kneeling, prone and standing in a world-class eight-woman field.

Germany's Natascha Hiltrop won the gold with a total of 456.5, Slovakian Veronika Vadovicova claimed silver with 456.1, and China's Zhang shot 446.0 to bag the bronze.

Avani led the final briefly but slipped to sixth place at the end of the prone stage, which is not her strong area as it causes her problems owing to positioning.

The Indian ace was doing well in the standing stage, her strong suit, but then an unexpected 8.3 did not help her cause. Agencies

Also Read: Avani Lekhara Secures Spot in Finals After Intense 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1 Qualifier at Paralympics

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