By Agencies
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held a telephonic conversation with India athletes who have clinched a medal in the ongoing Paris Paralympic as of now.
The athletes included bronze medallists Mona Agarwal, Preeti Pal, Rubina Francis, and silver medallist Manish Narwal.
PM Modi congratulated each of the winners and said they have made the country proud with their performances.
PM Modi also wished gold medallist Avani Lekhara success in her other endeavours in the games. She wasn’t able to join the call due to her participation in a sporting event at the Paralympics.
In the last Paralympics, India’s shooting contingent ended their campaign with five medals.
During the interaction, Manish asserted that the shooting contingent has aimed to better their tally and return with seven medals.
As of now, India has won four medals in shooting, with Mona, Preeti, and Rubina clinching a bronze each. While Lekhara clinched historic gold for India in shooting.
Mona walked away with the bronze medal in the women’s 10m air rifle final. In the same event, the reigning Paralympic champion, Lekhara, defended her gold by finishing at the top of the podium.
The two Indians were in the top three places, eying for the gold. However, it was Lekhra who secured the top spot in the women’s 10m air rifle final event.
Lekhra dominated the final of the women’s 10m air rifle and secured the top place with 249.7 points, which is also her personal best. Mona bagged the bronze medal with a total of 228.7 and ended in third place. Her success marked the first instance; India had a double podium finish in the same event at the Paralympic Games.
Manish clinched the silver medal after securing 234.9 points in the men’s 10m air pistol SH1 pistol. He started the match on a good note, but in the middle, the Indian shooter dropped to the sixth. However, he didn’t lose hope and ended the event with a silver medal around his neck.
Francis finished third and bagged a bronze medal in the P2 – Women’s 10m Air Pistol SH-1 final on Saturday.
Preeti secured third place and won the bronze medal after clocking 14.21 seconds in the 100m T35 event at the Paris Paralympics. (ANI)