Preethi Pal Bags Bronze In Women's 100m T35 Race Event, Becomes First Indian To Win Track Medal in Paralympics

India's para-athlete Preethi Pal won bronze in the women's 100m (T35) event with a personal best time of 14.21sec, marking it as India's first medal from para-athletics athletes at the ongoing Paris Paralympic 2024 on Friday.

Paris (France): India's Preethi Pal bagged the bronze medal in women's 100m (T35 - Ambulant athletes) event with a personal best time of 14.21sec at the ongoing Paris Paralympic 2024 here on Friday.

The 23-year-old Preethi's bronze marked India's first medal from para-athletics athletes in the Paris Paralympics 2024. Chinese Zhou Xia (13.58s) and Guo Qianqian (13.74s) won the gold and silver respectively.

T35 classification is meant for athletes who have coordination impairments such as hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis, as well as cerebral palsy.

🌟 In the grand stage of the Paris Paralympics Finals, Preeti Pal delivered an outstanding performance, claiming 3rd place in the Women’s 100m T35 with a new personal best! 🥉

An inspiring achievement on the world stage, proving that hard work and determination know no limits.… pic.twitter.com/4zBbzVeR9K

— Paralympic Committee of India (@PCI_IN_Official) August 30, 2024

Preethi Pal had a pretty impressive resume before coming into the mega event and the addition of this bronze medal has improved it significantly. Pal has clinched a couple of bronze medals in the World Para Athletics Championship (2024), two golds in the Indian Open Para Athletics International Championship (2024) and National Para Athletics Championship (2024).

"More glory for India as Preeti Pal wins a Bronze medal in the 100m T35 event at the #Paralympics2024. Congratulations to her. This success will certainly motivate budding athletes," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

More glory for India as Preeti Pal wins a Bronze medal in the 100m T35 event at the #Paralympics2024.

Congratulations to her. This success will certainly motivate budding athletes. #Cheer4Bharat

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 30, 2024

Meanwhile, Indian shooters began their medal pursuit in the Paralympics 2024, earning two medals on the second day of the competition. Avani Lekhara inked a Paralympic record with a score of 249.7 to clinch a gold while Mona Agarwal amassed a total of 228.7 to win a bronze medal. Avani became the first Indian woman to win two gold medals at the Paralympics after clinching a gold in Tokyo Games in 2020.