Manish Narwal added the silver lining to India’s campaign on the second day of action at the Paris Paralympics by finishing second in the 10m air pistol SH1 event in Paris on Friday. The Indian was sandwiched between Korea’s Jeongdu Jo and Yang Chao of China, who finished third to secure a bronze.
Later in the day, Preethi Pal became the first Indian to win a Paralympic medal in a track event. The 23-year-old won a bronze medal in the women’s T35 100m event with a personal best time of 14.21 seconds at the Paris Paralympics
Meanwhile, Manish followed up his Tokyo Paralympics gold medal in mixed 50m pistol with a consistent show in the 10m air pistol SH1 event on Friday. The Indian was consistently in the run for the top podium, before losing momentum in his final six shots. He shot above 10 only once, scoring 10.1, and had scores of 8.9 and 9.9 in the all-important gold shootout.
Korea’s Jo, on the other hand, shot an incredible 10.8 under pressure and followed it up with an 8.7, which was enough for him to clinch the gold medal.
Narwal’s silver was India’s third medal from the shooting range after Avani Lekhara made a golden start, clinching a second-successive top podium in 10m air rifle event. Mona Agarwal also secured a bronze medal in the same event to ensure a double podium for the contingent.
Preethi wins India’s first ever track medal
Minutes later, Preethi Pal scripted history by winning India’s first track medal at the Paralympics: a bronze in the women’s 100m T35 event.
The 23-year-old won a bronze medal in the women’s T35 100m event with a personal best time of 14.21 seconds at the Paris Paralympics. Apart from it being the country’s first track medal ever at the Games, Preethi’s bronze is also India’s first medal from para-athletics at Paris 2024.
China’s Zhou Xia (13.58) and Guo Qianqian (13.74) won the gold and silver respectively. T35 classification is meant for athletes who have coordination impairments such as hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis, as well as cerebral palsy.
Preethi had earlier won bronze at the World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan to ensure her qualification for the Games. Preethi had also narrowly missed out on two medals at the Para Asian Games in Hangzhou last year but was a strong contender for a medal in Paris.