Avani Lekhara, the first Indian woman to win gold in Paralympics

Avani Lekhara Indian athletes became the first woman ever in her country to win a gold in Paralympic games. She scored 249.6 in the 10m rifle shoot of women and win the gold with this score after beating the defending champion.

Avani Lekhara is a 19-years old Indian athlete who also breaks the world record after her victory. She beats the defending champions Zhang Cuiping of China and Ukraine’s Iryna Shchetnik and restricts them to only silver and bronze respectively.

Competing in her first game, she also became the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in shooting in the Olympics or Paralympics. She on the medal and increased the gold count to 5 for her country.

Avani Lekhara said she was trying to remain calm throughout the event to get more focus on the game and she succeeded. She also said that:

I was just saying one thing that I have to take one shot at a time. There’s nothing else that matters now, just take one shot at a time and just finish it, I just think that I have to follow the process. Beyond that, I try not to think about the score or the medal tally. I can’t describe this feeling, I’m feeling like I’m on top of the world. It’s unexplainable

When she was asked about India’s first-ever gold by a woman in the Paralympics history of her country. Avani Lekhara said that:

I’m so happy I could be the one to contribute it. Hopefully, there’s a lot of medals more to come.

According to her profile on the Paralympics website, she sustained a spinal cord injury in a car accident in 2012. However, she resumes her normal life again after 3 years of that accident and starts shooting as a hobby.

She decides to take her hobby to the next level after reading the book on shooting by Abinav Bindra a legend Olympian in the shooting. And now she won the gold medal in shooting for her country and became the first Indian woman to win gold in shooting and also in Paralympics.