Latest news with #ParisParalympics
Indian Express
01-06-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Mona Agarwal defies a strong field to win silver at the Para Shooting World Cup
On Saturday morning, as 37-year-old Paris Paralympics bronze medallist Mona Agarwal won the silver medal in the women's R2 10m air rifle standing SH1 final at the WSPS World Cup in Changwon, Korea, the Rajasthan shooter was congratulated by Tokyo and Paris Paralympics champion and compatriot Avani Lekhara. While Lekhara missed the medal by a solitary 0.1 point, finishing fourth in the eight-shooter final, it was Agarwal's fourth medal in a WSPS World Cup and first international medal since the Paris Paralympics. '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
Time of India
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Leanne Smith shatters three world records in one day at Indy Para Swimming World Series
Leanne Smith Indy Para Swimming World Series: Team USA The Para Swimming World Series in Indianapolis opened with a record-breaking bang, led by American Paralympic veteran Leanne Smith , who rewrote the record books with three stunning performances on the first day of competition. Smith, 36, returned to the pool after a four-month break following her successful campaign at the Paris Paralympics—and wasted no time making history. Competing in the S3 classification, she broke world records in the 50m, 100m, and 200m freestyle events. In the 100m freestyle final, Smith clocked 1:26.76, nearly a full second faster than her previous best from the 2022 World Championships. Along the way, she became the first woman in her class to swim under 40 seconds in the 50m freestyle, touching in 39.99 and eclipsing her own world mark of 40.03 set in Paris. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Your Finger Shape Says a Lot About Your Personality, Read Now Tips and Tricks Undo Later in the 200m freestyle, she improved her 2022 world record of 3:15.48 with a blistering 3:09.65 finish. 'It's something I didn't expect,' Smith told U.S. Paralympics . 'But switching up my training and taking a solid four months off from swimming was refreshing and much-needed. These records are emotional for me... working within your limits is OK and it's enough.' Joining her in the record-setting spotlight was 20-year-old Katie Kubiak, a New York University student making her international debut. Kubiak broke world records in the S4 classification 100m freestyle (1:17.72) and 150m individual medley (2:32.03), shaving over seven seconds off the previous IM record held by Liu Yu of China. Despite low expectations, Kubiak won four medals in four events, sharing the 100m podium with Smith and fellow American Morgan Stickney. 'I just wanted to come in and have a good time,' Kubiak said. 'I've never been on a stage quite this big... I'm really happy with the times I ended up swimming.' On the men's side, Brazil's five-time Paralympic champion Gabriel dos Santos Araujo continued his dominance. Competing in the S2 class, he swept golds in the 100m freestyle, 150m IM, and 50m butterfly, scoring over 1,000 points in the freestyle with a time of 1:58.80. The Indy meet is the first North American stop in the 2025 World Para Swimming Series, and with two days of competition remaining, all eyes remain on Smith, who is expected to race in multiple sprint events.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Leanne Smith breaks three Para swimming world records in one day
Five-time Paralympic medalist Leanne Smith broke three of her own world records in one day to open the Para Swimming World Series meet in Indianapolis on Thursday. Smith, a 36-year-old from Massachusetts, broke world records in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyles in the S3 classification. Advertisement In the 100m free final, she lowered her world record from 1:27.62 (set at the 2022 World Championships) to 1:26.76. En route, she also became the first woman to break 40 seconds in the S3 50m free, splitting 39.99. Smith previously held the world record of 40.03 from the Paris Paralympics. In Thursday's 200m free final, she clocked 3:09.65 to smash her world record of 3:15.48 from 2022. Smith said she took four months off from swimming after the Paris Paralympics, where she took gold in the 50m free (S4) and 100m free (S3). 'It's something I didn't expect (the world records), but switching up my training and taking a solid four months off from swimming was refreshing and much-needed,' she said, according to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. '(These records) are emotional for me, but they reinforce that you don't have to be doing what the person next to you is doing, and that working within your limits is OK and it's enough.' Advertisement Also Thursday, Katie Kubiak broke world records in the 150m individual medley and the 100m freestyle in the S4 classification. The New York University student is making her international competition debut at the World Series. Leanne Smith How Community Keeps Para Swimmer Leanne Smith Strong Anywhere She Goes For the Paralympic silver medalist and 10-time world champion, Beverly, MA will always have the warm embrace of home.
Straits Times
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Forum: Refreshed master plan boosts disability sports opportunities
We thank the writer for his letter 'Athletes with disabilities deserve equal space, coverage and respect' (April 10) and for showing his support for athletes with disabilities. Inclusion through sport is powerful. We believe that sport transforms mindsets and builds inclusivity, where persons of all abilities can engage with one another and create shared experiences. The disability sport movement in Singapore has grown from strength to strength. In 2015, we hosted the Asean Para Games for the first time and also opened the first inclusive gym at the Enabling Village. A year later, we launched the Disability Sports Master Plan (DSMP) to raise awareness of disability sports and expand opportunities for sports participation among persons with disabilities. Since then, we have made sports facilities and programmes more accessible for the disability community. Sports participation among persons with disabilities increased from 28 per cent in 2015 to 46 per cent in 2023. Between 2016 and 2023, 55,000 persons with disabilities participated in disability sports activities. The refreshed DSMP 2024, launched in November, will further enhance the awareness and accessibility to disability sport activities for persons of all abilities. This includes ensuring that all mainstream schools conduct programmes for students to experience disability sports by 2028. For those who aspire to achieve greater heights, we have also expanded support. For instance, in 2022, we launched the ActiveSG Para Sport Academy for young para-athletes to train under qualified coaches. Team Singapore para-athletes have done us proud at international games such as the 2023 Asean Para Games and 2024 Paris Paralympics. It was heartening to see Singaporeans cheer and support our Paralympians during the open-top bus parade last year. In September, we will be hosting the World Para Swimming Championships at the Sports Hub. We hope people will support our para-athletes who will compete against the best para-athletes from the world. We will continue to identify opportunities to profile stories of persons with disabilities who play sports regularly as well as those who support persons with disabilities to do so. We hope that this will help to increase awareness of disability sports, promote regular participation, and encourage caregivers to support their loved ones to stay active through sports. We look forward to working together with different stakeholders and the wider community, including the writer, to build a more inclusive and sustainable sporting ecosystem in Singapore. Lim Tze Jiat Senior Director, Sports Division Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth More on this Topic Forum: What readers are saying Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
