NAGOYA — Mona Agarwal produced a remarkable turnaround in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 final at the Asian Para Games on Monday, recovering from sixth place to clinch gold ahead of defending champion Avani Lekhara. Mona, who won bronze at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, scored 250.0 points to establish an Asian Para Games record, finishing just 0.4 points ahead of Avani’s 249.6, with South Korea’s Yunri Lee taking bronze with 227.9.
The gold-silver finish opened India’s medal account at the tournament and secured the country a second quota place in the event for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics. Mona had already earned a quota at the World Shooting Para Sport Championships in Changwon, South Korea, last month, where she won silver.
The final went down to the wire. Mona held a slender 0.1-point lead over Avani — 239.2 to 239.1 — before the decisive shot, where she produced a brilliant 10.8 to Avani’s 10.5. It was a dramatic reversal from the early stages, when Avani took an early lead with a 10.8 to Mona’s 10.1 and led by 1.9 points after the first ten shots, with Mona sitting in sixth place on 102.9.
Mona Agarwal’s Qualification Record
Mona never looked out of touch in qualification, topping the eight-shooter field with 629.1 points across six series to set a new Asian Para Games qualification record, surpassing the previous mark held by China’s Zhang Cuiping. She narrowly missed the world record of 629.4 points, jointly held by Avani and Slovakia’s Veronika Vadovicova, while Avani qualified for the final in second place with 626.4 points.
Her final score of 250.0 also set a new Asian Para Games record, eclipsing the previous benchmark of 249.6 that Avani had set while winning gold at the 2022 Hangzhou edition. Mona came close to the world record of 252, held by Slovakia’s Iryna Shchetnik, but fell short of the mark.
Mona Agarwal’s Turnaround and Faith
Reflecting on how she turned her performance around after a difficult phase, the 38-year-old shooter from Rajasthan’s Sikar said she concentrated on repeating her training routine rather than worrying about the outcome. “I just knew that I had to repeat my process. I would definitely give my best and come back to the top. At that time, I did not think about what to do and how to do it. I kept repeating my process, stayed relaxed, and trusted myself and my process. I remembered God, loaded the shot and fired,” she said after winning gold.
Asked about her concentration and faith during competition, she added with a smile: “God is sitting next to me.” She said recovering from difficult situations was something she had repeatedly practised during training. “If you see my previous match records, it always happens that I go down and then slowly come back up. I think I have done the same in my practice. When things get worse, I try to control them and stabilise my performance again. I don’t quit there.”
What Mona Agarwal’s Gold Means
The gold marked a remarkable improvement from her sixth-place finish in the same event at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games, and adds an Asian Para Games gold to her growing collection of international honours. The SH1 category features athletes with lower limb impairments who can support their firearm independently.
For Avani, the silver follows her gold-medal-winning performance at the previous edition, and she nevertheless secured a quota place for India at the Los Angeles Paralympics. Together, the two Indian shooters produced a one-two finish in the opening medal event — a fitting start to India’s campaign in Aichi-Nagoya.
The result also underlined the depth of India’s para-shooting programme. Both Indians had impressed in qualification, topping the field of eight shooters, and India additionally secured two places in the men’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 final — Rakesh Nidagundi qualified seventh with 619.3 points, while Swaroop Unhalkar secured the eighth and final qualifying spot with 617.4 points. Avani, a two-time Paralympic champion, remains the standard-bearer of the discipline, but Mona’s victory — her biggest medal to date — signals that India’s internal competition is as fierce as any international field.