Mona Agarwal edges Avani Lekhara to win women's 10m air rifle SH1 gold at Asian Para Games
Mona Agarwal beat compatriot Avani Lekhara to claim gold in the women’s 10m air rifle (SH1) at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya on Monday, October 19, 2026, as India opened its medal tally with a one-two finish.
Agarwal, a bronze medallist at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, recovered from sixth place in the final to set an Asian Para Games record of 250.0 and finish 0.4 points ahead of Avani Lekhara, who took silver with 249.6. Avani entered the event as the defending champion and is described in the report as a two-time Paralympic champion and 24 years old; Agarwal is identified as a 38-year-old mother of two.
The head-to-head duel between the two Jaipur shooters extended to the final shot of the 24-shot contest. According to the report, "Mona held a slender 0.1-point lead over Avani — 239.1 to 239.2 — before the decisive shot." On the last attempt Agarwal fired a 10.8 while Avani scored 10.5, the final sequence producing the 250.0–249.6 margin.
Agarwal paced the qualification round, topping the eight-shooter field with 629.1 to establish an Asian Para Games qualification record, with Avani second on 626.4. The article notes that the final initially followed a different pattern from qualification, with Avani taking an early lead.
In the early stages of the final Avani opened with a 10.8 compared with Agarwal's 10.1, led after the first five shots with a total of 53.2 and extended that advantage to 104.8 after ten shots while Agarwal was sixth on 102.9. The report states that Avani had been aiming to defend her Hangzhou gold in Nagoya.
During the elimination phase Agarwal steadily climbed the standings as Avani produced a run of modest scores, setting up the concluding exchange. Korea's Yunri Lee took bronze with 227.9, and the story explains that SH1 classification covers shooters with lower limb impairments.
Avani's silver also secured India a second quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics, the article reports, while Agarwal had already earned a Paralympic quota at the World Shooting Para Sport World Championships in Changwon last month where she won silver.
