Indian Shooting Contingent For Paralympics Leaves For Paris

Pistol marksman Manish Narwal on Saturday expressed confidence in the Indian shooting contingent surpassing its Tokyo Paralympics medal tally at the upcoming Paris Games, saying the "intense" training would hold the team in good stead. 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 had won two gold, a silver and two bronze medals at the Tokyo Paralympics. "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 spotlight will be on reigning Paralympic champion Avani, who had made history by becoming the first woman shooter from India to win two medals in Tokyo.

The Jaipur shooter, then 19, had clinched gold in 10m air rifle and 50m rifle 3-positions (SH1). She would look to replicate her gold medal-winning performances in Paris.

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.

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