Mona Agarwal Wins Gold with World Record Score Using Rented Rifle

Mona Agarwal won a gold medal in the 50 metre 3-position event with a world record score of 357.5, just days after winning gold in the 10m air rifle. The 39-year-old mother of two competed using a rented rifle because her own newly purchased 50m rifle had an equipment error.

Journey and Training

Three years ago when she started training in the 50m 3P event, the Jaipur-based shooter had to travel 30 kilometres to reach the closest range. She rode a scooty while carrying a rented rifle for these practice sessions three times a week, alongside her 10m air rifle practice near her home. She only received her own 50m rifle four months ago. She has competed internationally in the 50m 3P discipline only four times, which included a 13th place finish at the Paris Paralympics. Agarwal contracted polio when she was nine months old.

Match Performance

During the qualification round conducted in windy conditions, Agarwal scored 192 in kneeling, 190 in prone, and 186 in standing. In the final, she stood fourth with 101.4 points after the kneeling series. She then moved up to second place with a cumulative score of 203.5 after prone, and took the lead by scoring 103.8 in the first standing series, holding the top spot through the single-shot elimination. National coach Jeevan Rai noted that her strong performance in standing combined with good scores in kneeling and prone kept her in contention throughout.

Context

Shooters in para-sports often balance multiple events like the 10m air rifle and 50m 3P, which requires managing physical stress across different body positions such as kneeling, prone, and standing. Athletes frequently rely on personal trainers and targeted posture adjustments to handle heavy weekly training loads without injury.