Avani Lekhara, first Indian women to win Gold at Tokyo Paralympics

By: WE Staff | Monday, 30 August 2021

In the women's 10m AR Standing SH1 Final on Monday, Avani Lekhara won India's first gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics. The 19-year-old, who is competing in her debut Paralympics, is the first Indian woman to win gold in an Olympic or Paralympic event. In doing so, Lekhara coincidentally equaled the World Record.

She was ranked world no. 5 in women's 10m Air Rifle standing SH1 by the International Shooting Sport Federation.

Avani Lekhara advanced to the finals of the women's 10m Air Rifle standing SH1 at the current Tokyo Paralympics on Monday. With a total score of 621.7, the ace shooter placed eighth in the qualification round. Avani made a strong comeback after a difficult start to reach the showcase event's finals. She scored 104.9, 104.8, and 104.1 on her third and fourth attempts to qualify for the game, respectively, before scoring 104.1 in the final round of qualification.

On Sunday, India's para table tennis player Bhavina earned silver after losing the gold medal match in the women's singles - Class 4 to China's Zhou Ying 3-0. With the silver medal, Bhavina became the first Indian table tennis player to earn a Paralympic medal, and the second female athlete to do so after PCI president Deepa Malik. Deepa had won silver in the women's shot put at Rio 2016.