India's para shooters delivered a one-two punch at the Asian Para Games 2026 — and the podium sweep is already drawing national applause. Mona Agarwal claimed the Gold medal with a new Asian Para Games record of 250.0 points in the R2 – Women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event, while Avani Lekhara finished just behind at 249.6 points to secure the Silver, sealing a historic 1–2 finish for India on Monday, 19 October 2026.

Mona's record and Avani's silver — what the scoreboard shows

Mona Agarwal's score of 250.0 points did not just top the podium — it reset the continental benchmark for the SH1 category, a class for athletes with impairment affecting arm or leg function. Hot on her heels, Avani Lekhara — who made history by winning gold in the same discipline at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics — crossed the finish line at 249.6 points, a margin of just 0.4 points separating the two Indians at the top of the standings. Two Indians. One podium. Zero room for anyone else.

Avani Lekhara's arc — from Tokyo gold to Nagoya silver

Avani Lekhara entered the international spotlight when she became the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold medal — and to win two medals at a single Paralympic Games — at Tokyo 2020. Her story, a 19-year-old from Jaipur who took up shooting after a road accident left her with spinal injuries, remains one of the most compelling in Indian sport. Finishing silver behind a compatriot record-breaker here is not a step back; it is a measure of how deep India's para-shooting bench has become.

Why ministers from non-sports portfolios post — and why it matters

Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy, who also serves as BJP Telangana state president, posted his congratulations on X, writing: 'Mona sets a new Asian Para Games record with 250.0 points, while Avani finished with 249.6 points, securing a remarkable 1–2 finish for India. A proud moment for Indian para shooting!' The gesture is more than courtesy. When cabinet ministers from portfolios far removed from sport amplify para-athletes on major platforms, it signals a mainstreaming of para sports that was largely absent a decade ago. India has posted steady gains in para shooting at both continental and global events, and that momentum is now visible in the government's public communications, not just its budget allocations.

For two Indian women to stand first and second on an Asian Para Games shooting podium — one of them holding a record, the other a Paralympic champion — is the kind of moment that reframes what Indian para sport looks like to the next generation of shooters picking up a rifle for the first time.