NEW DELHI, Nov 23: India registered their best-ever show in the World Para Shooting Championship, returning home with an impressive haul of five medals, including three gold, from Al Ain in the UAE.
In doing so, the shooters also finished in the fifth place — their best-ever after the three bronze at the Sydney 2019 Worlds — with South Korea leading the standings with 20 medals.
Hosts UAE finished at eighth place with four medals, including two gold.
For India, all the three gold were won in team championships, while Rahul Jakhar claimed the only individual medal — a bronze — in the P3 Mixed 25m Pistol SH1 finals.
Jakhar was also part of the team, along side Paralympic medallist Singhraj and young Nihal Singh, that won the gold medal in the P3 team event.
Later, Jakhar combined with Rubina Francis and Deependra Singh to win the P5 Mixed 10m Air Pistol Standard SH1 gold medal.
In the P1 Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1, Singhraj and Nihal, along with Paralympic champion Manish Narwal, claimed the team gold after finishing ahead of Korea and Turkey.
Singhraj, however, finished a disappointing fourth in the individual final after leading a major part of the event, owing to a poor seven with six shots remaining in the finals.
“It was a good championship, but I need to work on several aspects of my game, especially on my breathing patterns. I have been working on it for a while now but still need more work. With the Paris 2024 countdown having already begun, there is no time to rest, the process continues,” said Singhraj, who secured a 2024 Paris Paralympics quota place for India.
Singhraj also paired with Narwal and Deepender to take the silver at the P4 Mixed 50m Pistol SH1, finishing behind Korea.
Among the top names, Paralympic star Avani Lekhara, who was shooting with her new rifle and new wheelchair, faltered in the finals of R8 Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1 and R2 Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1, finishing in the fifth and sixth places respectively. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
