India start Asian Para Games campaign in style with six golds in shooting, club throw, high jump and 5,000m; finish opening day in 4th spot with 17 medals
Avani Lekhara; India high jumper Shailesh Kumar. Pic/SAI Media; Pranav Soorma; Ankur Dhama; Praveen Kumar and Nishad Kumar
India picked up a whopping 17 medals, including six gold, with star shooter Avani Lekhara leading the way as the country ended the opening day of competitions at fourth spot in the Asian Para Games here on Monday.
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India (6 gold, 6 silver, 5 bronze) are behind hosts China (31 gold, 29 silver, 23 bronze), Iran (9 gold, 9 silver, 6 bronze) and Uzbekistan (6 gold, 6 silver, 8 bronze) in the medals tally.
Also Read: Asian Para Games 2023: India off with a bang!
As expected, track and field events contributed the most—11 medals (including five gold) out of the 17 on offer.
The day began with the Indians sweeping all the three medals in men’s club throw F51 event with Pranav Soorma winning the gold. The 29-year-old Soorma broke the Asian Para Games record with an effort of 30.01m while Dharambir (28.76m) and Amit Kumar (26.93m) were second and third respectively.
Later in the day, Avani made history as she clinched gold in the women’s R2 10m air rifle standing SH1 category with a games record score of 249.6.
“This gold is very special for me because this is my first medal in the Asian Para Games. This Asian Para Games is part of my preparations for the 2024 Paralympics,” Avani said.
Three Indians also finished 1-2-3 in the men’s high jump T63 category but only gold and silver were awarded under Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) rules.
Shailesh Kumar won the gold with an Asian Para Games record jump of 1.82m while Mariyappan Thangavelu (1.80m) took the silver. Govindbhai Ramsingbhai Padhiyar (1.78m) cannot win a bronze under APC rules. At least four athletes need to be in the fray to award all the three medals.
Nishad Kumar won India’s third gold of the day in men’s high jump T47 class as he cleared a height of 2.02m while compatriot Ram Pal took the bronze with an effort of 1.94m.
Ankur Dhama and Praveen Kumar clinched a gold each in men’s 5000m T11 and high jump T64 events to complete the Indian medal rush.
Ankur clocked 16:37.29 to win the race competed by runners with a near-total visual impairment. Praveen cleared a games record height of 2.02m to win gold in the event meant for athletes with a leg amputation.
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