Shooter Avani Lekhara wins historic 2nd Paralympic gold medal

IMAGE: Shooter Avani Lekhara is the first Indian to claim successive Paralympic gold medals. Photograph: World Shooting Para Sport/Instagram

The incredible Avani Lekhara became the first Indian to claim successive Paralympic gold medals with a record-shattering top finish in the women’s 10m air rifle (SH1) shooting competition and had a bronze-winning Mona Agarwal for company on the podium in a historic double for the country in Paris on Friday.

Winner of the gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago, 22-year-old Avani shot a remarkable 249.7, breaking her own Paralympic record of 249.6 set in Tokyo.

The 37-year-old Mona, who dabbled in several sports including shot-put, powerlifting and wheelchair volleyball before settling on shooting, notched up 228.7 for the third-place finish.

This is the first time in India’s Paralympic history that two shooters have pulled off medals in a single event.

Avani, who hails from Jaipur, endured a tough buildup to the Paralympics.

She grappled with a host of health issues, including a gallbladder surgery, which forced her to take a recovery break of one and half months.

But the committed shooter, who is an assistant conservator of forest with the Rajasthan government, did not let health concerns distract her from her aim of Paralympic glory.

She lost quite a bit of weight following the surgery but the determination to overcome all odds was all too evident during the national camp at the Karni Singh ranges, where she worked hard on regaining her strength and mentally steeling herself for Paris.

IMAGE: 22-year-old Avani Lekhara shot a remarkable 249.7, breaking her own Paralympic record of 249.6 set in Tokyo. Photograph: Eng Chin An/Reuters

“I am happy to win a medal for my country. I am thankful to my team, my coaches and my parents,” said Avani.

The SH1 category is for athletes who have movement affected in their arms, lower trunk, legs or have no limbs.

The youngster, who is wheel-chair bound after a car mishap left her paralysed below the waist as an 11-years-old, had became the first woman shooter from the country to win medals in shooting at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.

In a nerve-wracking final, Avani was trailing her rival Lee Yunri by a few decimal points but the South Korean wilted under pressure and had an awful last shot of 6.8, while Avani kept her cool to shoot a superb 10.5 to clinch the gold with a Paralympics record.

The success will come as a huge boost for Avani ahead of the 50m rifle 3-positions event, where she is also a firm favourite for a medal after winning bronze in the previous edition of the Games in Tokyo.

Earlier, Avani came up with another sterling performance by qualifying for the final in second place, while Mona, who too has been in sublime form in the last one year, also made it to the eight-shooter summit clach in fifth place.

While Avani shot a 625.8 to be placed second behind Ukraine Iryna Shchetnik, who broke the Paralympic Qualification Record with a score of 627.5, Mona, the two-time World Cup gold medallist, shot 623.1.

Avani had credited the “positive environment” in the national camp for helping her overcome her fitness worries.

“I think we have been in a very positive environment throughout. We are just focussing on the process rather than the outcome.

“There, obviously, will be expectations but those expectations only motivate me and inspire me more to give my best. I am also more mature in my technique,” she had said before leaving for Paris.

As the lead changed hands between Avani, Mona and Yunri, it was all too evident who was the strongest of them all in terms of mental fortitude. The bespectacled shooter kept striking consistently, with just one shot below 10, even as the other two succumbed to pressure.