Paris Paralympics 2024, Shooting Highlights: Avani Lekhara finishes 5th in R8 Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1 final

9:21PM IST - Para Archery - Women’s Individual Recurve Open Quarterfinals - Pooja 

9:38PM IST onwards - Para Archery - Women’s Individual Recurve Open Semifinal - Pooja (Subject to qualification) 

10:27PM IST onwards - Para Archery - Women’s Individual Recurve Open Medal Matches - Pooja (Subject to qualification) 

10:38PM IST - Para Athletics - Women’s 400m - T20 Final - Deepthi Jeevanji 

11:50PM IST - Para Athletics - Men’s High Jump - T63 Final - Mariyappan Thangavelu, Sharad Kumar, Shailesh Kumar 

12:13AM IST - Para Athletics - Men’s Javelin Throw - F46 Final - Ajeet Singh, Rinku, Sundar Singh Gurjar

Gold - Natascha Hiltrop (GER) - 456.5

Silver - Veronika Vadovicova (SVK) - 456.1

Bronze - Zhang Cuiping (CHN) - 446

4th - Anna Benson (SWE) - 432.6

5th - Avani Lekhara (IND) - 420.6

6th - Iryna Shchetnik (UKR) - 410.5

7th - Lee Yunri (KOR) - 398.7

8th - Natalie Smith (AUS) - 396.2

Six shooters remaining. Elimination after every single shot. Here we go.

Avani shoots 10.6, taking her total to 411.6. Shchetnik hits 10.5 but it is not enough to overtake Avani and the Ukrainian has been eliminated.

Gap between Avani and fourth-placed Benson is 1.3. 

Avani shoots 9.3 and Benson comes up with 9.9. That’s it for the Indian.

Avani Lekhara finishes 5th.

10.1 for Benson and it is nowhere near good enough to move past Zhang into 3rd position. The Swedish shooter, the current world champion, is out.

The medallists are confirmed.

Vadovicova shoots 9.5, Hiltrop hits 10.8 and Zhang shoots 10.6. 

Reigning Paralympic champion Zhang is out. She will have to settle for bronze this time.

The gap between Vadovicova and Hiltrop is 0.1 with one shot to go. What a dramatic finale!

Vadovicova shoots 9.4 but Hiltrop shoots 9.9 and the German wins the gold medal with the last shot!!!!!

First series underway.

Avani - 10.3, 10.0, 10.2, 10.0, 8.3 A forgettable final shot. Series score - 48.8

Avani stays 6th with overall score of 350.3.

Second series, after which the two shooters with the lowest scores will be eliminated, begins.

Avani - 9.6, 9.9, 10.0, 10.3, 10.6, Series score - 50.4

Avani, with a score of 400.7, moves to 5th and survives the first round of elimination.

Australia’s Natalie Smith and Korea’s Lee Yunri have been knocked out.

Nine minutes before the standing stage begins. Time for adjustments and sighting.

There is a significant gap between the top three - Hiltrop (307.1), Vadovicova (305.9), Cuiping (304.3) - and Avani.

First series

Avani - 10.1, 10.0, 9.9, 10.8, 9.8. Series score - 50.6

Avani’s overall score is now 201.5 and she slips to third.

Vadovicova jumps to the top spot with 202.5 and Zhang is second with 201.8.

Second series.

Avani - 9.8, 10.0, 10.6, 9.1, 10.4. Series score - 49.9.

Avani down to sixth with overall score of 251.4

Final series underway.

Avani - 10.1, 9.8, 10.6, 9.4, 10.2. Series score - 50.1

Avani stays 6th with a score of 301.5 after prone stage.

All eight shooters have seven minutes before the prone stage begins. Time for sighting.

First series of the kneeling stage is underway. 

Avani - 10.2, 9.4, 10.7, 10.9, 9.9. Total - 51.1. The Indian is in a three-way tie for the top spot with Slovakia’s Veronika Vadovicova and China’s Zhang Cuiping, the defending champion.

Here comes second series.

Avani - 10.6, 9.2, 9.0, 9.9, 10.2. Series total - 48.9. Overall score - 100.0

Avani has slipped to fifth. That was a disastrous second series for the Indian.

Final series of this stage.

Avani - 10.6, 10.4, 10.8, 9.7, 9.4. Series score - 50.9

At the end of kneeling stage, Avani’s total is 150.9 and she is 2nd.

Defending champion Zhang Cuiping leads with 151.5

Sighting time for the eight finalists at the Chateauroux Shooting Range.

Every shooter will have three series of five shots each in the kneeling as well as the prone stage. It will be followed by two series of five shots each in the standing stage.

The two shooters with the lowest scores will be knocked out at this point. 

With six shooters left, the elimination stage will begin where after every shot in the standing stage, the one with the lowest score will exit.

Kneeling

Only one elbow must rest on the table or board and the body must be well clear of the board.

Prone

Both elbows must rest on the table or board. The upper arms must not touch the table or board. The forearm must not form an angle of less than 30 degrees from the horizontal, measured from the axis of the forearm.

Standing

The rifle must be held with the arms only, without support. 

No part of the arms may come in contact with any part of the shooting chair. 

Not any part of the elbows is to make contact with the lap, wheel or gain support other than from the ribcage, hip or abdomen. The penalty for non-compliance with this rule is first a Yellow Card, followed by a Green Card (two (2) point penalty), with a 3rd violation resulting in a Red Card (disqualification).

Gold - Avani Lekhara - R2 Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 (Para Shooting)

Gold - Nitesh Kumar - Men’s Singles SL3 (Para Badminton)

Gold - Sumit Antil - Men’s Javelin Throw F64 (Para Athletics)

Silver - Manish Narwal - P1 Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 (Para Shooting)

Silver - Nishad Kumar - Men’s High Jump T47 (Para Athletics)

Silver - Yogesh Kathuniya - Men’s Discus Throw F56 (Para Athletics)

Silver - Thulasimathi Murugesan - Women’s Singles SU5 (Para Badminton)

Silver - Suhas Yathiraj - Men’s Singles SL4 (Para Badminton)

Bronze - Mona Agarwal - R2 Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 (Para Shooting)

Bronze - Preethi Pal - Women’s 100m T35 (Para Athletics)

Bronze - Preethi Pal - Women’s 200m T35 (Para Athletics)

Bronze - Rubina Francis - P2 Women’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 (Para Shooting)

Bronze - Manisha Ramadass - Women’s Singles SU5 (Para Badminton)

Bronze - Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar - Mixed Team Compound Open (Para Archery)

Bronze - Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan - Women’s Singles SH6 (Para Badminton)

Anna Benson (SWE) - 1175

Veronika Vadovicova (SVK) - 1169

Zhang Cuiping (CHN) - 1167

Iryna Shchetnik (UKR) - 1165

Lee Yunri (KOR) - 1164

Natascha Hiltrop (GER) - 1160

Avani Lekhara (IND) - 1159

Natalie Smith (AUS) - 1156

Under an hour to go before Avani Lekhara takes part in R8 Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Final in Paris.

She has won two medals at the last edition in Tokyo. In Paris, she has clinched a gold in R2 - Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1. Can she grab one more and become the most decorated Indian Paralympian?

Thank you for joining us for the qualification round of the women’s 50m rifle 3 position event. The final is scheduled for 7:30 pm IST today. Join us for the final in around three and half hours time. 

A short wait for all competitors to finish their respective shots. And there is the confirmation. Avani Lekhara qualifies for the final of the women’s 50m rifle 3p event. 

Avani performed well in the kneeling (388) and prone (390) stages to rise up the standings early and despite managing only 381 in the standing stage, she manages to cement 7th place 

Her compatriot Mona Agarwal scored only 381 in the kneeling stage. Despite improving to 383 in the prone and standing, the bronze medallist in the 10m rifle could not make it through to the final. 

Paris Paralympics 2024: Avani Lekhara qualifies for final of Women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event; Mona misses out

Avani Lekhara finished in seventh place in the women’s 50m rifle 3 position qualification event held at the Chateauroux shooting range to qualify for the final on Tuesday.

Series 4: 

Mona: 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 9, 10

Avani: 10, 9, 8, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

An excellent 98 for Mona in her last standing series. A little too late for her though as she ends her qualification with a score of 1147 with 38 inner tens. Her average score is 9.558 and that puts her temporarily in 13th place. 

Five tens in a row for Avani as she scores 97 in her final standing series. She ends her qualification stage with a total score of 1159 with 59 inner tens. Her average score is 9.658 and she currently stands 7th in the standings and remains in contention for a final spot. 

Series 3:

Mona: 10, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10, 8, 10, 10, 9

Avani: 10, 10, 10, 8, 10, 10, 10, 9, 9, 10

95 in the third standings series for Mona. An overall score of 1049 with 33x sees her jump one spot to 14th. 

Avani remains 7th with an average of 9.655 and a total score of 1062 with 52 inner tens. 

Series 2:

Mona: 10, 9, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 10, 9, 10

Avani: 10, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10 

A better series for Mona who scores 97. Still remains 15th in the standings. 

96 for Avani is series 2. She rises to seventh with an average score of 9.663. 

Series 1:

Avani: 10, 9, 8, 8, 10, 10, 9, 8, 10, 10

Mona: 9, 10, 10, 9, 10, 8, 10, 8, 10, 9

93 for Mona in her first standing series. A couple of 8s spoils the series for her. A total of 857 so far for her, remains 15th. 

92 for Avani. She manages to stay in eighth place with an overall score of 870 with 42 inner tens. 

One position left to for both the Indian shooters. Overall, Emilia Babska of Poland leads with an average score of 9.825. Natascha Hiltrop of Germany is second with an average of 9.813 and Yunri Lee of South Korea occupies third place with 9.813 but with lesser number of inner tens (41 to Hiltrop’s 46). 

Series 4:

Avani: 10, 10, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Mona: 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 9, 10, 9, 8, 10

98 in Series 4 for Avani. She remains 8th in the standings with a total score of 778 with 38 inner tens and an average of 9.725.

Mona only manages a 95 in the last series. A total of 764 with 26 inner tens and an average of 9.550 for her. She remains 15th. 

Series 3:

Avani: 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 9, 9, 10, 10

Mona: 9, 10, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 

98 for Avani in the third prone series. A total score of 680 with 34x and she continues to occupy that 8th spot. 

98 for Mona as well. No improvement in terms of standings for her though. She remains 15th with 669 and 21 inner tens. 

Series 2:

Avani: 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 9, 10, 9, 9, 10

Mona: 10, 10, 9, 10, 9, 10, 9, 10, 10, 10

Avani with a sixth consecutive series of 97. Takes her overall score to 582. She currently occupies the last qualification position in eighth. 

Mona hits a 97 in the series. She remains 15th with 571 and 15 inner tens. 

Series 1:

Avani: 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 9, 9

Mona: 10, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 10, 9, 10, 9 

At the end of the first prone series, Avani shoots another 97. Her total score is 489 with 26 inner tens which brings her up to seventh place. 

93 for Mona in her first series. An overall score of 474 sees her occupy 15th place. 

With the other competitors getting their prone stage underway, Avani drops out of the top 8 temporarily. 

Natascha Hiltrop leads the way with 596 points so far - an average of 9.770. Iryna Schetnik follows with a 9.754 average in a score of 556 and Emilia Babska stands third with 390 points and a 9.750 average. 

Series 4:

Avani: 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 9, 9

Mona: 10, 9, 10, 10, 10, 9, 9, 10, 10, 9

A prefect start to the last series of the kneeling position for Avani. A few nines to finish it off but she manages to end with 97 again. A total score of 388 with 21 inner tens puts her currently in sixth spot.

Mona ends the kneeling stage with a score of 381 with 10 inner tens which puts her 13th in the standings. 

The top 3 in standings currently are Anna Benson (SWE), Emilia Babska (POL) and Huanyu Xie (CHN). Anna ends with 390 at the end of the kneeling stage whereas Huanyu has sped through to series 2 in the prone already. 

Series 3:

Avani: 10, 10, 9, 9, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 10

Mona: 9, 10, 10, 9, 9, 10, 9, 10, 10, 9

Avani zooming through her shots here. She completes another series of 97. A total score of 291 with 17 inner tens puts her in fourth spot currently. 

Only 95 for Mona in her third series. She currently stands 12th with a score of 285 with 7 inner tens. 

Series 2:

Avani: 10, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 9, 9, 10, 10 

Mona: 10, 9, 10, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10

Another series of 97 for Avani. She has a total score of 194 with 13 inner tens which currently puts her in 3rd spot. 

A much better series from Mona who gets 98. She has a total score of 190 with 5 inner tens which puts her currently in 11th place. 

Series 1:

Avani: 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 9, 10, 9, 10, 10

Mona: 9, 9, 9, 10, 9, 9, 10, 9, 9, 9

A score of 97 after the first series puts Avani in fifth place in the standings. Mona shoots a 92 and currently stands 15th. 

The kneeling position rounds are underway. In this position each shooter will shoot four series of 10 each. If two competitors are tied on the same points, the number of inner tens will be used to classify them.

The prone and standings positions will also see competitors shooting 40 shots each. The top 8 shooters at the end of all three positions will qualify for the final. 

Live telecast of the Paris Paralympics is available on DD Sports channel while live streaming is available on Jio Cinema as well as the official YouTube channel of Paralympics from August 28 to September 8.

Welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the shooting events of Day 6 of the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Stay Tuned as we take you through all the action starting with the women’s 50m rifle 3p qualification round.