Asian Para Games: Mona Agarwal wins gold, Avani Lekhara silver, India secure 1-2 win

Avani Lekhara and Mona Agarwal (Image credit: NEW DELHI: India enjoyed a memorable day at the 2026 Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Monday as Mona Agarwal won gold and Avani Lekhara claimed silver in the women’s 10m air rifle SH1 event.Mona finished with a score of 250.0 points while Avani finished a close second with 249.6 points. South Korean Lee Yunri won the bronze medal with 227.9 points.Indian shooters remained in contention for the top spot throughout the final, but Mona finished ahead of Avani by just 0.4 points to clinch the gold medal.The silver medal adds to Avani’s record at the Asian Para Games. She won gold at the 2022 Hangzhou Games and continued her medal run at the 2026 edition.The result put India at 1-2 with both scorers finishing ahead of the rest of the field.

Avani edge Mona in a narrow design

Mona had a consistent performance in the finals, finishing with 250.0 points. Avani also put up a strong challenge, finishing with 249.6 points, just shy of the gold medal.The difference between the two Indian scorers was only 0.4 points, making it a tight battle for the top two positions.Lee Yunri finished third with 227.9 points and won the bronze medal.

Mona set a qualifying record

Mona also topped the qualifying round after six series with 629.1 points. Her score set a new Asian Para Games qualifying record, surpassing the previous mark held by China’s Zhang Cuiping.She also came close to the world record of 629.4 points, which is jointly held by fellow Indian Avani Lekhara and Slovak Veronika Vadovičová.Avani also put in a strong performance in the qualifying round to secure a spot in the finals and bag the silver.