Paris [France], September 2 : In a nail-biting conclusion to the men's Para Archery Individual Compound Open Bronze Medal match at the Paris Paralympics 2024 on Monday, Rakesh Kumar experienced a heartbreaking finish.
Kumar narrowly missed out on the bronze, finishing just one point behind China's He Zihao with a score of 146-147. Despite the close loss, Kumar's fourth-place finish stands as the highest achievement by an Indian compound archer in Paralympic history.
Earlier in the competition, Kumar defeated World No. 2 Ken Swagumilang of Indonesia in the round of 16 and went on to beat Canada's Kyle Tremblay in the quarterfinals.
However, he fell short in the semifinals against China's Ai Xinliang.
India has secured a total of seven medals at the ongoing Paris Paralympics so far, with one gold, two silvers, and four bronzes.
On Monday, Nishad Kumar also won silver in the men's high jump T47.
On Sunday, Indian parasprinter Preeti Pal clinched the bronze medal in 200m T-35 with a time of 30.01 seconds.
With this medal, Preeti created history as she became the first-ever Indian woman athlete to win 2 medals in the track & field event at the Paralympics, or Olympics. Earlier, Preeti secured third place and won the bronze medal in the T35 100m race after clocking 14.21 seconds, which is also her personal best.
On Saturday, Rubina finished third and bagged a bronze medal in the P2-Women's 10M Air Pistol SH-1 final She gathered a total of 211.1 points in the final.
On Friday, reigning Paralympic champion, Avani Lekhara maintained her winning streak and struck gold in the women's 10m air rifle final at the ongoing Paris Paralympics. Shooter Mona Agarwal bagged the bronze medal at the same event.
Lekhara dominated the final of the women's 10m air rifle and secured the top place with 249.7 points, which is also her personal best.
India's silver medal came in shooting as well, with Manish Narwal getting a silver in the men's P1 10 m air pistol SH1 competition.
This year, India has sent its largest Paralympics contingent ever, comprising 84 athletes across 12 sports, a testament to the country's expanding para-sports ecosystem. India's participation in the Paris 2024 Paralympics marks not only a significant increase in numbers but also in medal hopes, as the nation aims to surpass its previous achievements in Tokyo.
Tokyo 2020 was India's most successful Paralympic Games, with the country winning 19 medals, including five golds, eight silvers, and six bronzes.
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