Pooja, Avani shoot to silver medals at Para World Cup

India's Pooja Agarwal and Avani Lekhara made impressive international debuts, claiming a pair of silver medals at the World Shooting Para Sport World Cup.

(From L to R): Pooja Agarwal and Avani Lekhara (both in wheelchair), who claimed a pair of silver medals at the World Shooting Para Sport World Cup in Al Ain, UAE, pose with Manish (Assistant), Gita Shankar (Rifle Coach), Jayaprakash Nautiyal (Team Manager) and P. N. Papanna (Head Coach) after their success

India's Pooja Agarwal and Avani Lekhara made impressive international debuts, claiming a pair of silver medals at the World Shooting Para Sport World Cup here in the UAE on Friday. Pooja shot 228.4 in the final of the women’s 10m air pistol SH1 event (P2), finishing behind Hungary's Krisztina David, who fired a world-record 230.7. The Uttarakhand shooter had been in contention for gold until the final round, when a 7.5 scuppered her chances.

Later, Avani shot a junior world record 244.4 in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event (R2) to secure India's second silver of the competition. The 15-year-old finished behind Slovakia's Veronica Vadovicova, who created a world record of 247.5.