Indians pick 17 medals on Day 1 of Para Asian Games

Indians picked up 17 medals, including six gold, with star shooter Avani Lekhara leading the way as the country ended the opening day of competitions at fourth spot in the Asian Para Games at Hangzhou on Monday. India (6 gold, 6 silver, 5 bronze) are behind hosts China (31 gold, 29 silver, 23 bronze), Iran (9 gold, 9 silver, 6 bronze) and Uzbekistan (6 gold, 6 silver, 8 bronze) in the medals tally.
As expected, track and field events contributed the most - 11 medals (including five gold) out of the 17 on offer. The day began with the Indians sweeping all the three medals in men’s club throw F51 event with Pranav Soorma winning the gold. Soorma broke the Asian Para Games record with an effort of 30.01m. Later in the day, Avani made history as she clinched gold in the women’s R2 10m air rifle standing SH1 category with a games record score of 249.6. Rudransh Khandelwal added a medal in shooting by winning a silver in P4 mixed 50m pistol SH1 event. Three Indians also finished 1-2-3 in the men’s high jump T63 category but only gold and silver were awarded under Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) rules.