Paris Paralympics 2024: Rubina Francis wins bronze in air pistol SH1 event, fourth medal for India in shooting

Rubina Francis (Pic: X)

India's Rubina Francis won a bronze medal in the women's air pistol SH1 event final to continue the strong show from the country's shooters in the Paris Paralympics 2024 on Saturday.

Rubina scored a total of 211.1 to finish third in the eight-woman final. She had qualified for the final at the seventh spot in the qualification round earlier in the day.

Despite the immense pressure on Francis, the 25-year-old para-shooter did not hit a single shot from her 14th-21st attempt outside the nine-point mark and clawed her way back into the competition. She knocked out Turkey's Aysegul Pehlivanlar in sudden death to seal the third spot.

Iran's Sareh Javanmardi topped the qualification round with a total of 570 ahead of Hungary's Krisztina David (567-17x) and France's Gaelle Edon (567-16x).

This was India's fourth medal in shooting and fifth overall at the ongoing Paris Paralympics2024.

On Friday, Avani Lekhara had created history by successfully defending her women's 10m air rifle gold medal which she had clinched in the Tokyo Paralympics, with compatriot Mona Agarwal clinching the bronze, and Manish Narwal clinched a silver medal in the men's 10m air pistol SH1 with a score of 234.9.

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Manish Narwal then added a silver medal in the men's 10m air pistol (SH1) In SH1 class, athletes are able to hold their gun without difficulty and shoot from a standing or sitting position in a wheelchair or chair.

Earlier in the day, Swaroop Unhalkar suffered heartbreak after missing out on a place in the final in the men's 10m air rifle standing (SH1) after finishing 14th in the qualification round with a score of 613.4.

(With agency inputs)