Khelo India Para games: In-form armless Archer Sheetal Devi storms into final

New Delhi, December 15, 2023: Star archer Sheetal Devi was the cynosure of all eyes on Friday’s proceedings at the inaugural Khelo India Para Games in Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
 
The Asian Para Games champion advanced to the gold medal round of the women’s compound competition with a total score of 696 points. The armless sensation Sheetal Devi, representing Jammu and Kashmir, has been making waves in recent months with two medals in her maiden appearance at the Para Asian Games in Hangzhou and then medals at the Para Asian meet in Bangkok.
 
Jyoti Balayan from Uttar Pradesh too advanced to the final round, 10 points behind Sheetal at 686. Sarita of Haryana and Tanishka of Delhi will play for the bronze medal on Saturday.
 
Ahead of the Khelo India Para Games, Sheetal had spoken of mild pressure as all athletes in fray are known to her. However, when she used the bow and arrow with her legs on Friday, her unwavering concentration stood out. Her skill and will was indeed a delight to watch.
 
Goal spree by Kerala in CP Football 
 
National champions Kerala have been in stunning form in the Cerebral Palsy Football competition. After thrashing Punjab 21-0 in their opening group match on Thursday, Sijo George’s team scored an identical 21-0 win against Jharkhanon Friday.  Tamil Nadu also began their campaign with two good wins, upsetting Manipur 3-1 on Thursday and trouncing Madhya Pradesh 12-0. 
 
Sunita Dhobi wins big for Rajasthan
 
On the final day of powerlifting, Sunita Dhobi of Rajasthan and SamimbenVahora of Gujarat were tied at identical weights of 63kg. P. Chandra from Tamil Nadu was third at 50kg. As per classification, Sunita was declared winner.
 
There was plenty of excitement in the elite 107kg section, when strongman Pardeep John from Haryana lifted 180kg for gold. Silver went to Milan Kumar of Rajasthan, at 150kg. The vast difference between the two lifters showcased how strong Pardeep was. Bronze medal went to Dinesh Bagade of Maharashtra at 148kg.
 
Mona Sharma upsets Asian Games gold medallist in shooting
 
Rajasthan's Mona Sharma caused a major upset on Day 3 of the Para Shooting of Khelo India Para Games at Dr Karni Singh Stadium, after she surprised Para Asian Games 2023 gold medallist Sidhartha Babu to claim the gold medal in the Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1 event. 
 
Mona scored a total of 247.5 just 0.2 shy of Sidhartha's Para Asian Games Record score of 247.7. Kerala's Sidhartha finished with 245.1 to earn a Silver while Anandkrishnan H finished with 221.9 to earn a Bronze.

Table Tennis
 
In the para table tennis, Goa’s Lloyd Fernandes, who emerged champion at the 1st Para Table Tennis National Ranking Championships at Ahmadabad in July this year, defeated Pawan Sharma of Haryana 3-0 in men’s Class-2 category without much difficulty. Lloyd dominated the match from the beginning and has made it to the semi-finals to be played tomorrow. 
 
Result highlights: 
 
Shooting Final Results (December 15th, 2023)
 
Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1:
 
1) Mona Sharma (Rajasthan) - 247.5
2) Sidhartha Babu (Kerala) - 245.1
3) Anandhakrishnan H. (Kerala) - 221.9
 
Mixed 25m Pistol SH1
 
1) Nihal Singh (Rajasthan) - 22
2) Akash (Uttar Pradesh) - 20
3) Rahul Jahkar (Haryana) – 16
 
Table Tennis- Day 2 Quarterfinal results (December 15th, 2023) 
Men’s Class-8 category:

Gajanan Parmar (MP) beat Amresh Kumar Singh (UP) 3-0
Shashidhar Kulkarni (KNT) beat Raju (UP) 3-0
Kunal Arora (UP) beat Ajay GV (KNT) 3-0

Men’s Class-9 category:
 
Dattaprasad Chougule (MHR) beat Brijendra Singh (UP) 3-0
Chetan Salgaonkar (GOA) beat Pritam Saha (WB) 3-0 
Ravinder Yadav (HRN) beat Ranjit Singh Gujjar (UP) 3-0

Women’s Class 1-3 category:
Rajalakshmi S J (KNT) beat Fatima Beevi (TN) 3-0
Vidya Kumari (BHR) beat Prema P (TN) 3-0

Women’s Class 4 category:
Pragya Ghildial (DLI) beat Shamim Chawda (GUJ) 3-0
Usha Rathod (GUJ) beat Priyanka Bajpai (UP) 3-0