Nithya's bronze helps India record best-ever show in badminton at Paralympics

NEW DELHI: Nithya Sre Sivan grew up dreaming to become a cricketer one day, inspired by her brother's involvement as a district player and her father's passion for the game. The 19-year-old from Hosur in Tamil Nadu, Nithya's sporting passion took an interesting turn during the 2016 Rio Paralympics. She avidly watched various sports televised live and was fascinated by it.
However, it wasn't until the Covid-induced nationwide lockdown in 2020 that Nithya discovered her true love for para badminton, thanks to her father's colleague – a state-level para badminton player.Nithya's father entered her into the Tamil Nadu para badminton state championship where she participated and showcased her skills.
As her interest in the game grew, she started reading articles on Chinese able-bodied badminton superstar Lin Dan – two-time Olympic gold medallist and five-time world champion – which ignited her desire to pursue the sport seriously.
After securing multiple world para badminton championships medals in the years ahead and winning three bronze medals in women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles at the Hangzhou para Asian Games last year, Nithya tasted the ultimate glory on her debut in Paralympics Games when she climbed up the podium in Paris after beating Indonesia's Rina Marlina 21-14, 21-6 in a lop-sided women's singles SH6 third-place playoff match.
Nithya, who came into the tournament as a top seed, dominated the proceedings from the start and finished the contest in just 23 minutes. Nithya went into the bronze medal match after she was defeated by China's Lin Shuangbao 21-13, 21-19 in the semis.
Athletes competing in the SH6 class have short stature and play in standing positions. Nithya's bronze was India's fifth in badminton, helping the country to record its best-ever finish in badminton events at the Paralympics. India had won four medals in badminton at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Avani finishes fifth in women's 50m rifle 3 positions final
Para shooting sensation Avani Lekhara missed out on a second medal at the Paris Paralympics after finishing fifth in the final of the women's 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 competition on Tuesday.
Avani shot a total of 420.6 across the three stages of kneeling, prone and standing in a strong eight-woman field at the Chateauroux shooting range. Germany's Natascha Hiltrop won the gold with a total of 456.5 while Slovakian Veronika Vadovicova claimed silver with 456.1 points. China's Zhang settled for bronze totalling 446.0.
The 22-year-old Indian had entered the final after finishing the qualification in seventh place. Avani shot a total of 1159 in the qualification.
The other Indian shooter in the event, Mona Agarwal, failed to qualify for the final, ending in the 13th position. She aggregated 1147.
In Paris, Avani created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win two gold medals at the Paralympics. She had secured the top podium finish in the women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 event with a new Games record score of 249.7 in the final.
Bhagyashri Jadhav finishes fifth in F34 women's shot put
India's Bhagyashri Jadhav finished fifth in the women's shot put F34 final after producing a throw of 7.28m which wasn't enough. China's Lijuan Zou won the gold with a season best of 9.14m while Poland's Lucyna Kornobys claimed silver with an effort of 8.33m.
Jadhav, 39, who was making her second Paralympics appearance, had lost the use of her legs due to an accident in 2006. With encouragement from friends and family, she took to para sport.