Tokyo Paralympics: Avani Lekhara fails to qualify for Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 final
Tokyo,(PTI): Shooter Avani Lekhara, who became India's first female gold medallist in Paralympic Games two days ago, failed to replicate her success as she crashed out in the qualification round of the mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 event here on Wednesday.
The SH1 (Rifle) allows individuals with no impairment in the upper limbs but an impairment in either/both the lower limbs to compete.
Lekhara was not at her usual best as she she finished a disappointing 27th with a score of 629.7, crashing out in the third round.
Other Indian para shooters in the men's event, Sidhartha Babu and Deepak Kumar witnessed a horrible outing, finishing 40th and 43rd respectively with scores of 625.5 and 624.9 at the Asaka Shooting Range.
The gold in this event was won by Germany's Natascha Hiltrop, while silver and bronze were bagged by South Korean Park Jinho and Ukraine's Iryna Schetnik.
The 19-year-old Lekhara created history in her debut Games, winning India's first Paralympic medal in shooting with a gold in R2 women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1.
Lekhara, who sustained spinal cord injuries in a car accident in 2012, had finished with a world record equalling total of 249.6, which is also a new Paralympic record.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
