Indian shooter Avani Lekhara finished 11th while Siddharth Babu finished 28th in the mixed 10m air rifle prone (SH1) event of the Paralympic Games here on Sunday and thus failed to qualify for the final. Sriharsha Devareddy Ramakrishna finished 26th with a total score of 630.2 in the mixed 10m air rifle prone (SH2) qualification.
Avni could not repeat her historic gold medal-winning performance in the 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 and despite a good start, failed to make it to the final with a total score of 628.8 points. Siddharth scored 628.3. Avni’s order of scores in six series was 105.7, 106.0, 104.1, 106.0, 104.8, 106.2, while Siddharth’s score was 104.6, 103.8, 105.7, 104.9, 103.6, 105.7.
Avni won the gold medal in the women’s 10m air rifle (SH1) event on Friday. She became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in two consecutive Paralympics. She defended her title with a world record. In SH1, players can hold the gun without any difficulty and can aim while standing or sitting.
The 44-year-old Devareddy shot 105.2 in Series 1 and then 105.7 in the next series before giving disappointing scores of 105.4, 104.3, 105.6 and 104.0. He had limited control over his limbs due to an accident 11 years ago.
Born in Dharwad in 1980, Devareddy currently lives in Hubli with his wife, son and parents. His bike overturned on a gravel road and following the accident, he suffered severe spinal injuries and despite surgery, he lost control of both his hands and legs.
