New Delhi: The Indian shooting contingent on Saturday left for Paris to take part in the Paralympics which start on August 28 with opening ceremony. Pistol marksman Manish Narwal expressed confidence that the shooting contingent of India will surpass Tokyo Paralympics medal tally at the Paris Games with some intense training sessions at their back.
A 10-member shooting contingent, including rifle exponent Avani Lekhara, Mona Agarwal and Narwal, will compete at the Chateauroux Centre near Paris from August 30. India won a total of 19 medals at the last Paralympics which included 5 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze. India are hopeful that they will cross the 19-medal tally and bring laurels to the nation.
“Our preparations have been intense, and we are eager to give our best shot in Paris. We aim to surpass our previous performance and bring more medals home,” said Narwal, who had won the 50m pistol (SH1) gold in Tokyo and will be competing in 10m air pistol at the Paris Games, before the team’s departure on Saturday.
Besides Narwal, Avani and Mona, the other members of the shooting contingent are Amir Ahmad Bhat, Rudransh Khandelwal, Rubina Francis, Swaroop Unahalkar, Sidhartha Babu, Shriharsha Devaraddi and Nihal Singh.
The main limelight of the Indian contingent would be on reigning Paralympic champion Avani, who scripted history by becoming the first woman shooter from Indian to bag two medals in Tokyo Games. The shooter from Jaipur had clinched gold medal in 10m air rifle and 50m rifle 3-positions. She would want to better her personal tally at the upcoming games.
The Paralympic Committee is expecting a record-breaking 25-plus medals in Paris and the performance of the shooting team will have a great impact on the overall tally.
(With PTI inputs)
Indian shooting contingent for Paralympics left for Paris on Saturday. A 10-member shooting contingent, including rifle exponent Avani Lekhara, Mona Agarwal and Narwal, will compete at the Chateauroux Centre near Paris from August 30. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
