Mona Agarwal defies a strong field to win silver at the Para Shooting World Cup
'Avani has been the torch bearer of World Para shooting, and she has shown that with the two Paralympic titles. It's just that it was not her day today as she narrowly missed the medal. I have always believed that our competition is against ourselves in the shooting range. I had been trying consistently here in the final to win the medal for India,' shared Agarwal while speaking with The Indian Express from Changwon, South Korea.
Hailing from Sikar, Rajasthan, Agarwal was affected by polio at a young age of nine months. With her father running a hardware shop in Sikar, Agarwal would initially dabble in athletics, competing in events like discus throw, shot put, and javelin throw at state para games. Later, post her marriage in 2017, she opted for weight-lifting on the suggestion of her husband Ravindra Chaudhary, a former wheelchair basketball player.
It was only in 2021 that Agarwal started shooting under coach Yogesh Shekhawat at the Eklavya Shooting Academy in Jaipur and competed in her first WSPS World Cup in Croatia in 2023. While Lekhara missed major competitions in 2023 and early 2024 due to her gallbladder surgery, Agarwal would cement her place in the Indian para rifle shooting team.
Agarwal won her first WSPS World Cup medal in the form of gold medal in the WSPS World Cup in Delhi, in March last year, where she also won the Paris Paralympics quota for India before she paired up with Aadithya Giri to claim the mixed team air rifle standing (SH1) event silver medal in the same World Cup. One month later, Agarwal would again win a WSPS World Cup gold with the women's R2 10m air rifle Standing SH1 final title in the WSPS World Cup in Changwon. In the Paris Paralympics, Agarwal claimed the bronze medal.
The long stretch of competitions from March last year meant that Agarwal faced problems with her posture and some nerve injuries. 'Being in competition mode for more than six months starting March last year at the Paris Paralympics also meant that my body was overtired, and I would struggle with my posture. A lot of the time, my body will get stiff, and some nerves in my body will also be compressed due to prolonged hours of training. Post Paris, my main challenge was to balance training and my physical struggles,' says Agarwal.
On Saturday, Agarwal qualified for the eight-shooter final in second spot with a score of 620.6 behind Korea's Yoojeong Lee's score of 621.9, with another Korean and Paris silver medallist, Yunri Lee, in the third spot with a score of 620.0. Korean Miyoung Kim (619.9 points) would qualify at the fourth spot, followed by Lekhara (617.5), apart from Emilia Babska of Poland, compatriot Swaroop Unhalkar and Makhmudakhon Sobirova of Kazakhstan. 'With three Korean shooters competing at their home range, finishing second in qualification gave Mona the right kind of mental preparation before the final. Whenever she has competed in the final of the World Cup, she has always won a medal. Today's medal is special given her struggles post Paris,' said Jaiprakash Nautiyal, chief coach Indian Para Shooting team.
In the final, Agarwal was placed at the fourth spot after the second series with Yunri Lee, Lekhara and Yoojeong Lee ahead of Agarwal. She composed herself in the elimination series and went all the way to the gold deciding round before Yunri Lee won the gold. 'Though I started well, remaining in the top four after the end of the second series, I had my ups and downs in the elimination series. But I am glad my technique and shooting process clicked for me at crucial shots, and I could win the silver medal among the packed field consisting of three Koreans and Avani,' shared Agarwal.
The mother of two also had to meet the demands of her two children, six-year-old daughter Aarvi and four-year-old son Avik. 'My children are my biggest strength. Neither of my children has called me for the last 3-4 days, knowing that I am competing. When I used to call them, they would say Mumma, aap competition ki taiyari karo. The only thing they ask is to get lots of toys from the local markets, from whichever country I go,' says Agarwal.
Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story 'Harmans of Moga', Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women's cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships.
An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin's interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
19 minutes ago
- First Post
Ex-Pakistan cricketer hopes India boycott Asia Cup match to save them from humiliation: 'They'll thrash us so badly...'
Following Pakistan's humiliating 202-run defeat that resulted in them suffering their first ODI series against West Indies in 34 years, former middle-order Basit Ali felt an even worse beating was in store against the Indian team in the Asia Cup that takes place in the T20I format in the UAE next month. Arch-rivals India and Pakistan could potentially face each other thrice in the 2025 Asia Cup in UAE. AP Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has warned the current team against facing India in the upcoming Asia Cup following their 2-1 ODI series defeat at the hands of West Indies in the Caribbean. The Men in Green suffered their first ODI series defeat against the West Indies in 34 years with a humiliating 202-run defeat in the series-decider in Tarouba on Tuesday, getting bundled out for 92 after being set a challenging 295 to win. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It marked a disappointing end to what was a mixed tour of the Caribbbean, with the Salman Agha-led side winning the T20I leg 2-1 and the ODI team captained by Mohammad Rizwan going 1-0 before conceding the series with back-to-back losses. And the manner in which the two-time world champions across white-ball formats capitulated in their most recent game doesn't bode well heading into the upcoming Asia Cup that is set to take place in the T20 format in the UAE next month. Basit, for one, hoped for once that India would carry out a boycott of their meeting with their struggling arch-rivals to save Pakistan what he believes is a humiliation in waiting. 'I pray India refuse to play against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, just like how they did at the World Championships of Legends. Itni buri tarah maarenge na vo, ki aapki soch hai (They will thrash us so badly you can't even imagine),' Basit, who played 19 Tests and 50 ODIs for Pakistan, said on The Game Plan YouTube channel. Everyone goes mad when you lose to India: Basit The 54-year-old added that a defeat against any other team will not sting Pakistan fans as much as a loss against India would, especially if it's by a lopsided margin. 'If we lose to Afghanistan, no one would care much in this country. But everyone goes mad the moment you lose to India,' Basit added. India and Pakistan find themselves in Group A in the upcoming eight-team continental event along with Oman and UAE, while reigning T20 champions Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong comprise Group B. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The India-Pakistan showdown is scheduled to take place on 14 September in Dubai although some uncertainty continues to linger over the fixture due to the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that was followed by a four-day military standoff between the two nations. The format of the tournament, however, is such that the two nations could find themselves facing each other thrice including in the final, despite all the talk of India severing sporting ties with Pakistan including and especially cricket.
Indian Express
19 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Regal' Shubman Gill will be ‘right up there' for a long time to come, says Ravi Shastri
There were all kinds of questions swirling around Shubman Gill's Test career in the early months of the year, which led to a few raised eyebrows when he was made India captain after Rohit Sharma's retirement. However, Gill blew away those doubts and then some with a record-breaking performance with the bat in his very first Test series at the helm in England. He also proved a worthy candidate for captaincy as India 2-2 in a series that has widely been rated as one of the best of the century. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, under whom Gill had made his international debut, has now said that the 25-year-old will be among the flagbearers for the next generation of great India batters. 'No question, Shubman Gill he'll be around for a long, long time because we've seen what kind of series he's had here. I think he's only 25 years of age, and as you know, with this exposure, he'll get even better,' Shastri said on Sky Sports. Gill scored a whopping 754 runs in the five-match Test series in England. He fell for scores of 21 and 11 in fifth Test, which resulted in him missing out on Sunil Gavaskar's record for most runs by an Indian in a Test series by about 20. He also became just the third Indian to score over 700 runs in a series after Gavaskar and his teammate Yashasvi Jaiswal. Gill's tally is also the second highest for a captain in any Test series, only 56 runs behind the record of 810 held by the legendary Don Bradman, who had scored that against England at home in the 1936/37 Ashes. Conversely, it is the highest score by any Indian captain in a Test series by a margin of of 22 runs – Gavaskar held the record previous for the 732 he scored in the six-Test series against the West Indies in 1978/79. Gill started the series by scoring a century on his captaincy debut. He scored 147 in his very first innings as the skipper, followed by a score of eight in the second innings. Gill then made merry in the second Test, scoring a record 269 in the first innings and 161 in the second as he powered India to a 336-run win at Edgbaston. He then could only manage scores of 16 and six in the third Test and 12 in the first innings of the fourth before grinding out 103 runs off 238 balls as part of a match-saving effort with KL Rahul. Rahul and Gill batted out nearly 70 overs after which unbeaten centuries by Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar helped India draw the match. This was followed by the 21 and 11 he scored at the Oval.
Hindustan Times
19 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
D Gukesh feels ‘people are more motivated to play against' him due to World C'ship title: ‘I felt this pressure of…'
D Gukesh showcased his grit and determination on Wednesday, as he finished his Rapid section campaign in fourth position at St. Louis. In the final three rounds, he lost to Leinier Dominguez, and then beat Wesley So and leader Fabiano Caruana. D Gukesh and Magnus Carlsen during Norway Chess.(HT_PRINT) Since becoming World Champion in December last year, Gukesh has been facing constant pressure, and has also fallen victim to the likes of Magnus Carlsen. D Gukesh on his opponents Speaking after his win, Gukesh said, 'I kind of sense that people are more motivated to play against me (after he became world champion).' 'But it's none of my business, I just play my game. Maybe the first couple of tournaments, I felt this pressure of having to prove something, but then it got better. It has already been eight to nine months, and I played a few tournaments. I think I just got settled into this new state.' Now Gukesh will be in action in the Blitz section, where he didn't fare well in Zagreb. He said, 'I mean, it will be a great challenge because Zagreb didn't go well. It will be a challenge to prove myself and just try to do my best. You have to be well rested because of nine rounds of Blitz, but also some practice to get into Blitz rhythm. No rapid.' Gukesh finished the rapid section with 10 points, trailing Caruana (14), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (11) and Levon Aronian (13). Dominguez, So, and Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov have nine points and share the fifth position. They are two points ahead of Vietnam's Liem Le Quang. American GM Sam Shankland is ninth with five points, and Grigoriy Oparin is last with three. This was also Gukesh's fourth win in a row vs Caruana, which will also see the American feel some pressure. Recently, Caruana had also publicly mocked Indian GMs.
