Paris Paralympics: Indian rowers finish eighth in PR3 mixed double sculls
text_fieldsThe Indian rowing duo of Narayana Konganapalle and Anita, who previously clinched silver at the Asian Para Games, finished eighth overall in the PR3 mixed double sculls event at the Paris Paralympics on Sunday.
Competing in their debut Paralympics, the pair recorded a time of 8:16.96 seconds, placing second in the Final B of their repechage event, which determined their final standings.
In the Final B race, the American team of Saige Happer and Todd Vogt claimed the top spot with a time of 7:48.38 seconds, while Mexico's Miguel Angel Nieto Carpio and Angeles Britani Gutierrez Vieyra finished behind the Indian team with a time of 8:28.23 seconds.
Earlier, Narayana and Anita were relegated to the Final B classification race after securing a third-place finish in their heat on Saturday. In that race, they clocked a time of 7:54.33 seconds, trailing behind Ukraine (7:29.24 seconds) and Great Britain (7:20.53 seconds).
Narayana Konganapalle, an Army sepoy, lost his left leg below the knee after stepping on a landmine while guarding the Indian borders in Jammu and Kashmir in February 2015. Anita, on the other hand, lost her leg in a road accident at the age of 18.
The PR3 category in para-rowing is designated for athletes with sufficient residual leg function, enabling them to use a sliding seat during the rowing motion.