Tokyo Paralympian Akash wins shooting thriller, eyes LA 2028 medal

Haryana lead medal tally, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh at No. 2 and 3, respectively

Rakesh Thapliyal

New Delhi: In a thrilling battle between Paralympians at the Dr Karni Shooting range, Uttar Pradesh’s Akash won the Khelo India Para Games 2025 gold medal in the mixed 50m pistol SH1 category on Tuesday ahead of Paris 2024 Paralympian Rudransh Khandelwal of Rajasthan.

The Khelo India Para Games shooting competition came to an end with Rajasthan topping the medal tally with nine medals that included four golds and two silvers. Uttar Pradesh (four medals with two golds) and Maharashtra (three medals with two golds) finished second and third in the shooting standings.

With two days of competition left in this edition of Khelo India Para Games, 166 gold medals have been decided by the end of Day 6 on Tuesday. Haryana (95 medals with 30 golds) have a healthy lead over No. 2 Tamil Nadu (67 with 25 golds) and Uttar Pradesh (54 medals with 22 golds). Rajasthan have 60 medals with 22 golds but have two less silvers than UP, who have 18.

Khandelwal, who had earlier claimed the gold medal in the men’s 10m air pistol SH1, suffered loss on Tuesday after his pistol malfunctioned at a critical juncture of the finals. It gave 2020 Tokyo Paralympian Akash a clear advantage and the UP shooter pipped Tamil Nadu’s Sanjeev Kumar for the gold. Akash maintained his cool and scored 15.7 in his final two shots to maintain a lead by 0.2 to take the top spot.

Speaking after the win, Akash, who hails from Khedki village in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, said that he was focused on his own game and is elated to win the gold medal. “I am happy to win the Gold medal here at Khelo India Para Games. This is the first major step for me as I begin my journey towards Paralympics 2028 in Los Angeles and winning gold here will boost my confidence.”

The 34-year-old Akash, who has polio since the age of two, further equated Khelo India Para Games with ‘sanjeevani’, the mythical herb from ‘Ramayana’. “Khelo India Para Games has given us a new lease on life like ‘sanjeevani booti’. We are getting motivated and have a chance to develop. People are also recognising us as it is being broadcast live.”

Meanwhile, Khandelwal, who settled for a bronze expressed satisfaction with his overall performance. “I am very proud of my performance at the second edition of the Khelo India Para Games. There was a malfunction of my weapon today while I was loading it. This incident was not intentional, and such malfunctions can sometimes occur. The matches were tough but I played well and in accordance to my skillset. So, I am happy with the overall result.”

The day also saw powerlifters in action at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium complex. Five more categories were concluded and Tamil Nadu’s Kasthuri Rajamani, who won a gold in the last edition of the Khelo India Para Games in December 2023, clinched her second KIPG gold by emerging winner in the women’s 67kg category on Tuesday. Another former Khelo India Para Games gold medallist, Sumit Kumar also defended his title in the men’s 97 kg weight category.

Table tennis action got underway at the Indira Gandhi Stadium complex. The seven-time national champion Shubham Wadhwa from Punjab, advanced to the next round after beating Karnataka’s Jaganath HM in straight sets.

RESULTS (All finals)
PARA SHOOTING:
Men’s 50m Pistol SH1: Gold – Akash (Uttar Pradesh); Silver – Sanjeev Kumar (Tamil Nadu); Bronze – Rudransh Khandelwal (Rajasthan)

PARA POWERLIFTING
ELITE- 73 KG-
Gold- Reshma Mogal (Guj); Silver- Ashaben Varvabhai Patel (Guj); Bronze- Maya (Raj)
ELITE- 88 KG-
Gold- Sudhir (Har); Silver- Rahul Jograjiya (Guj); Bronze- Jagmohan (Del)
ELITE- 67 KG-
Gold- Kasthuri (TN); Silver- Megha Panday (MP); Bronze- Jeewani (Raj)
ELITE- 80 KG-
Gold- Sandesha B G (Kar); Silver- Murugan (TN); Bronze- Jaideep (Har)
ELITE- 97 kg-
Gold- Sumit Kumar (UP); Silver- Hemant Kumar (UP); Bronze- Moh Zavir (UP).