Asian Para Games 2026: Mona Agarwal breaks world record to win second gold medal, Avani Lekhara finishes fourth

Indian para-shooter Mona Agarwal delivered a record-breaking performance to win gold in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 event at the Asian Para Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Friday, October 23. Mona registered a score of 357.5 to set a new world record and claim her second gold medal of the competition.

Mona surpassed the previous world record of 356, set by Sweden's Anna Benson in Novi Sad in July 2026. The Indian shooter also bettered the Asian record of 355.7, established by South Korea's Lee Yunri in Changwon last month.

China's Zhang Cuiping secured silver with a score of 353.7. while South Korea's Kim Miyoung took bronze with 344.4. India's Avani Lekhara finished fourth with 333.2.

Mona Agarwal wins second gold at Asian Para Games 2026

Mona continued her impressive campaign in Aichi-Nagoya by adding another gold medal to her tally. Earlier in the competition, she won the women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 event with a Games-record score of 250.0.

Lekhara finished second in that event with 249.6 points, giving India a one-two finish.

Avani Lekhara misses out on podium

Lekhara narrowly missed a medal in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 final, finishing fourth with 333.2 points.

The Indian shooter had been among the leading contenders after the prone position but lost ground during the standing series. Agarwal, meanwhile, maintained her challenge to finish at the top of the standings with a world-record score.

The SH1 category in para shooting includes athletes with certain upper- or lower-limb impairments who can support the firearm using their arms without requiring a shooting stand.

India continue medal push at Asian Para Games 2026

India continued to add medals across disciplines on Day 5 of the Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya. In para badminton, Nitesh Kumar won gold in the men's singles SL3 event, while Pramod Bhagat claimed silver. Naveen Sivakumar also secured gold in the men's singles SL4 competition.

In para-archery, Harvinder Singh and Vijay Sundi won gold in the men's recurve doubles event. Sandeep clinched gold in the men's 400m T64 final, with Ajay Kumar taking bronze. Haney also won gold in the men's javelin throw F37/38 event.

India added further silver medals through Thulasimathi Murugesan in women's singles SU5, Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan in women's singles SH6, Pooja Jatyan and Bhawna Choudhary in women's recurve doubles, Parmod Bijarnia in men's 1500m T46 and Nimisha Suresh in women's long jump T47.

Jehan Madan and Shubham Wadhwa won bronze in men's doubles para table tennis MD4. According to the figures provided in the report, India had reached 103 medals, comprising 27 gold, 33 silver and 43 bronze, and stood fourth in the medal standings at the time of writing. China led the table with 354 medals.

India are aiming to surpass their previous best of 111 medals, achieved at the 2023 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, as the competition continues in Japan.