Mona Agarwal and Avani Lekhara clinch India's opening medals

Indian para shooters Mona Agarwal and Avani Lekhara delivered a memorable one-two finish in the women's 10m air rifle final at the 2026 Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Monday. Mona claimed the top podium spot for gold while Avani secured the silver medal, handing India its opening honours of the continental tournament in Japan. Consistent podium finishes by Indian women in rifle events over recent Paralympic and continental cycles have established shooting as one of the nation's strongest para-sport disciplines.

Record-Breaking showdown in Women's final

Mona captured the gold medal by registering 250 points at the conclusion of the seventh series. Her winning effort established a new Asian Para Games record in the women's 10m air rifle final. She eclipsed the previous tournament mark of 249.6 points, which Avani had recorded during the 2023 Hangzhou Games. Competing alongside her compatriot, Avani matched her own 2023 Hangzhou benchmark by shooting 249.6 points across seven series to take home the silver medal.

Dominant qualification marks set early tone

Earlier on Monday, both Indian shooters dominated the preliminary stage of the women's 10m air rifle event. Mona led the qualification standings with 629.1 points after six series, setting a new continental qualification record in the process. Her score surpassed the previous Asian Para Games qualification mark held by China's Zhang Cuiping. She finished just short of the 629.4-point world record, which remains jointly held by Avani Lekhara and Slovakia's Veronika Vadovicova. Following closely behind in the preliminary round, Avani secured second place with a total score of 626.4 points to reinforce India's strong position entering the medal round.

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Fourth-Place finish in Men's rifle Competition

While the women's event produced two medals, India missed out on the podium in the men's 10m air rifle standing SH1 final. Mahavir Swaroop Unhalkar came closest to a medal, placing fourth with 205.9 points before exiting after the fifth series. Fellow Indian finalist and tournament debutant Rakesh Nidagundi ended the final in seventh place with 141.5 points.

During the men's qualification round earlier in the day, Nidagundi had placed seventh with 619.3 points after six series, while Unhalkar took the eighth and final qualifying spot with 617.4 points. Compatriot Anandha Krishnan finished 13th in the preliminary standings with 605.2 points and did not advance to the medal stage.

With Inputs from Agency Threads and Image Courtesy: ANI