Chateauroux: India's Avani Lekhara progressed into the final of Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1 after finishing seventh in the qualification round here at the Chateauroux shooting range.

Competing in the 16-woman qualification round, Lekhara held her nerve through the three challenging rounds-- kneeling, prone, and standing -- to achieve a total score of 1159, including 59 inner tens. Her average score was 9.658.

Avani had previously won bronze in the same event in Tokyo Paralympics.

Another Indian competing in the event, Mona Agarwal, missed out on a spot in the final, finishing in 13th place with a total score of 1147 and an average score of 9.558, including 38 inner tens.

Earleir, in women's 10m air rifle standing SH1, Avani bettered her previous Parlaympic record, which she set in the Tokyo Games, to clinch the gold medal.

SH1 category is for shooters with lower limb impairments like amputations or paraplegia with the ability to hold their gun without difficulty and shoot from a standing or sitting position.

Avani scripted history at Tokyo 2020 when she became the first Indian woman to clinch a pair of medals at a single edition of the Paralympics. She won the 10m air rifle gold and the 50m rifle three-position bronze in the SH1 category in the Tokyo Paralympics.

(IANS)