Paris, Aug 31 (IANS): Indian para-shooter Rubina Francis clinched the bronze medal in the women's 10m air pistol SH1 event at the Paris Paralympics on Saturday, with a final score of 211.1. Francis, who entered the final in seventh place after the qualification round, finished third in a competitive eight-woman final.

In the final, Francis initially held second place after the first stage, scoring 50 points, just 0.1 points behind Iran's Sareh Javanmardi, who went on to win gold. Despite a dip in performance during the second stage, Francis made a strong comeback. She maintained a high level of accuracy, with no shots falling below the nine-point mark from her 14th to 21st attempts. Francis secured her podium finish by defeating Turkey’s Aysegul Pehlivanlar in a sudden death shoot-off.

Earlier in the day, Swaroop Unhalkar missed out on a place in the final of the men's 10m air rifle standing (SH1) event, finishing 14th in the qualification round with a score of 613.4.

This bronze medal is India's fourth in shooting at the ongoing Paralympics and the fifth overall. Avani Lekhara had already made headlines by defending her gold medal in the women’s 10m air rifle SH1, a title she won at the Tokyo Paralympics. Mona Agarwal also contributed to the medal tally with a bronze in the same event. Additionally, Manish Narwal earned a silver in the men’s 10m air pistol SH1. The country’s tally includes a bronze won by para-sprinter Preethi Pal in the Women’s 100m T35 event.

In the SH1 category, athletes have the flexibility to hold their guns in a manner that suits their needs and shoot from either a standing or seated position, including using a wheelchair or a chair.