How shooter Avani Lekhara defied the odds to become one of India's best para-athletes
On Tuesday, Avani Lekhara missed out on a podium finish in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 competition at the ongoing Paris Paralympics 2024. Avani shot a total of 420.6 across the three stages of kneeling, prone, and standing in a world-class eight-woman field to finish fifth.??
First Indian woman to win twoParalympics gold medals?
While she missed out on winning a medal, her second in the Paris Paralympics 2024, the 22-year-old will return home from the French capital with her head held high as the first Indian woman to win two gold medals at the Paralympics.??
She claimed the top prize in the women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 shooting event, successfully defending the title she won in Tokyo three years ago with a new Games record score of 249.7 in the final.??
Avani was also the first Indian athlete to win a gold at the Paris Paralympics on Friday.??
Wheelchair-bound since age of 11?
What makes Avani's achievements on the world stage even more impressive is how she overcame the odds to become one of the best in the world.??
At the age of 11, Avani, who hails from Jaipur, met with a life-changing road accident that left her paralyzed below the waist and bound to a wheelchair.??
Avani took up shooting in 2015 and won India's first gold medal in para-shooting at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. In 2021, she was awarded the Khel Ratna Award, the highest sporting honour in India. Avani is the youngest athlete to win the Khel Ratna.??
Overcoming health challenges to win second gold
While she was widely expected to win a medal in Paris, it wasn't an easy journey for Avani, was struggling with a host of health issues, including a gallbladder surgery, which forced her to take a recovery break of one and a half months.??
'Women can also win gold'
Avani, who is an assistant conservator of forests with the Rajasthan government, said that she was happy to prove that women can also win gold for India.??
"I am happy that I was able to win the gold for my country. It broke the barriers for other women in the country, they can look up and see, 'Okay, women can also win gold in India,' and I am grateful that I was the first one to achieve that," she said.??
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