Changwon, Sep 10 (IANS) India’s Mona Agarwal, who won bronze at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, on Thursday secured an LA 2028 Paralympics quota place after winning a silver medal in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle SH 1 event at the World Shooting Para Sport Championships.

It was a double delight for India as two-time Paralympic champion Avani Lekhara bagged a bronze medal, helping the country secure two podium spots.

The 22-year-old Serbian Kristina Trifunovic bagged the gold with a score of 250.2, closely followed by Mona Agarwal with 250.0, while Avani Lekhara finished with a score of 229.4.

It was a maiden world championship medal for Mona, who won a silver at the World Cup at the same venue last year. Meanwhile, Avani, a two-time Paralympic champion and three-time Paralympic medallist in rifle events, with back-to-back R2 gold medals, won her first World Championships title in R2 and R8.

Changwon marked Avani’s return to the Worlds after four years, having missed Lima 2023. Her Worlds debut also came in Korea, at Cheongju 2018. She knows the Changwon range well, having competed at three World Cups there and claimed gold in 2022.

The Changwon 2026 WSPS World Championships, where a total of 324 shooters from 53 nations are competing to test their focus and accuracy, with LA28 qualification quotas also at stake, award 24 quota places: 13 male and 11 female. Top two ranked athletes (not otherwise qualified) in each medal event earn one slot for their nation.

The LA28 shooting Para sport programme features 13 medal events: three men’s, three women’s, and seven open. A total of 150 quota places will be available for the next Paralympics (75 male, 60 female and 15 gender-free).

–IANS

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