Mona Agarwal

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mona Agarwal

• Mona Agarwal was stricken by polio when she was just nine months old. Talking about the tragedy, she stated in an interview that
  

  I believe I had a reaction to the polio drops when I was a few months old. After that I couldn’t walk. During the 1980 and 90s, there was a surge in polio cases. Don’t know whether I contacted the virus from the air or what.”

• Mona Agarwal could not complete her schooling as she belonged to a very conservative area where girls were hardly provided education.

• Her parents had two girls initially and they wanted a boy but Mona was an ‘unwanted’ child in the conservative family. Mona’s maternal grandmother Geetha Devi supported her throughout her life.

• In 2007, she started working as a Direct Marketing Manager at the ICICI Bank Financial Channel in Sikar, Rajasthan.

• In 2010, Mona started working as the Team Leader at the Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance company in Jaipur.

• Mona left her home at the age of 23 to pursue a career in sports and she also received a warning from her elders that If she moved away from the house she wouldn’t be allowed back in the family.

• Since 2011, she has served as the volunteer and workshop coordinator for the NGO ‘Art of Living.’

• In 2012, Mona started working as the Branch Coordinator at the company ‘Stovekraft Limited.’

• In 2015, Mona Agarwal started working as an Assistant Manager of the Business Analytics branch of ‘Stovekraft Limited.’

• In 2016, she started working as the State Business Head of Rajasthan at the home and kitchen appliances manufacturing company ‘Greenchef Appliances Limited.’

• In 2018, she started working as a Clerk at the Judicial Department of Alwar, Rajasthan. 

• Before she took up shooting, Mona Agarwal was a state-level para-athlete. She had won gold medals in shot put, discus, and javelin. She also did powerlifting and won three gold medals but had to leave it as her body didn’t support lifting weights. Mona also tried her hands at volleyball.

• In 2021, Mona Agarwal decided to look for a sport which was easy on her body and that’s when she figured out that shooting would suit her body perfectly and she started to pursue it professionally. Eklavya Sports Shooting Academy located in Jothwar, Rajasthan helped her decide that shooting was the most well-suited sport for her. She was quoted saying in an interview that
  

  I found shooting suited me perfectly. It would also give me a chance at individual glory, unlike volleyball.”

• She started taking professional shooting training for the coach Yogesh Shekhawat at the Eklavya Sports Shooting Academy.

  

• During her initial training days, she faced major financial constraints because owning shooting equipment was expensive. Mona’s coach Yogesh Shekhawat did his bit by canceling his training fees.

• Mona competes in the 10m air rifle (SH1) para shooting category.

• Mona Agarwal made her international debut at the World Cup in Osijek, Croatia in July 2023. She won the bronze medal in her debut championship.

• She is a founder of the national para volleyball girls team and was quoted saying in an interview that
  

  I am also the founder of the national para volleyball girls team. I travelled across India to motivate girls to take up the sport and we formed a team as well.”

• In 2023, Mona started working at the government secretariat in Jaipur.

• In the same year, she participated in the 4th National Para Shooting Championship which was held in Delhi.

  

• In the same year, Mona participated in the 4th Asian Para Games which were held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Mona finished at the 6 rank in the world championship.

• In 2024, Mona Agarwal took part in the Para World Cup which was held in Changwon, Korea and she won the gold medal in the tournament finals. She became one of the few Indian shooters to secure successive top-podium finishes at the global competition.

• In the same year, Mona took part in the women’s 10m air rifle SH1 category at the WSPS Para Shooting World Cup which was held in Delhi. She won the gold medal in the tournament finals and won a quota place for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

  

• Mona Agarwal became the ninth Indian shooter to secure a berth in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

• In 2024, Mona Agarwal won the bronze medal with a final score of 228.7 in the Women’s 10m air rifle final (SH1) category at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.