It was a golden start for India in the Paris Paralympics. Avani Lekhara defended her crown in the women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event, winning gold for the second successive time at the quadrennial showpiece spectacle. Avani broke her Paralympic record from Tokyo 2020 to become the most decorated female Paralympic athlete from India.
India won two medals in the shooting event as Mona Agarwal, 36, clinched a bronze medal. Much like the Paris Olympics in which Manu Bhaker won the country's first medal, shooters have opened the account for India at the Paralympics.
An Abhinav Bindra fan, Avani Lekhara became the first female para-athlete to win three medals in the Paralympics for India. The 22-year-old had won a gold medal in the women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event and a bronze medal in women's 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 in Tokyo. She had also become the first Indian female athlete to win a Paralympic gold medal in Tokyo.
It was a thrilling final at the Chateauroux - Final Range. Avani Lekhara was in second spot until the last shot of the 8-woman final.
Lee Yunri of South Korea was leading the final and was looking set to snatch the gold medal away from Avani. However, she shot a 6.8 in her final attempt. Avani shot 10.5 and sealed the gold medal. Avani finished with 249.7, a new Paralympic Record. She had shot 249.6 for a Paralympic record three years ago in Tokyo.
Mona Agarwal took the bronze medal with 228.7. The 36-year-old was in gold medal position before the final elimination round. She shot a 10.6 in the first of the two shots in her last round. However, a 10 in the last shot cost her a better finish.
Avani's life took a dramatic turn in 2012 when she was involved in a car accident that left her paralysed from the waist down. This life-altering event could have easily derailed her future, but her father, Praveen Lekhara, refused to give up on her. In 2015, he introduced her to shooting at the Jagatpura Shooting Range in Jaipur, where she discovered her passion for the sport.
Inspired by Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra's autobiography, Avani began training under coach Chandra Shekhar and later roped in former air rifle Olympian Suma Shirur as her personal coach.
Avani's hard work and dedication paid off when she won her first international medal, a bronze, at the 2017 World Shooting Para Sport (WSPS) World Cup in Bangkok. There was no looking back from there on.
Her success at the Tokyo Paralympics catapulted her to national fame, and she went on to win more medals, including a record-breaking performance at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou.
