Avani Lekhara created history yesterday by becoming the first-ever Indian to win a Paralympic gold medal in Shooting for the country. In addition to that, Avani has also smashed a new Paralympic world record with a total score of 249.6.
With the 19-year old’s record-breaking win in the 10m air rifle standing SH1 event, India got its first gold medal in this edition of the Paralympic games. Let’s speak about her journey to the finals. Initially, Avani had a very slow start during the qualification stages. However, she sparked an incredible recovery to qualify to the finals of this event by finishing 7th with a cumulative score of 621.7.
Going forward in the finals Avani Lekhara displayed a tremendous performance by constantly hitting the 10.5 mark with her rifle. As a result, she comfortably won the gold medal with her arch rival Zhang finishing 22 points behind her. Therefore the 19-year-old had an extraordinary tournament considering she faced the world’s top ranked players at the grandest stage at such a young age.
Hence, World No 5’s determination to get India gold medal after facing a life-threatening injury is sure to inspire millions of people in India. Thus Avani along with all the Indian Paralympian athletes have made the country proud with their amazing display and will receive a grand welcome from everyone once they return to the country.
Avani Lekhara at the Top of the World after winning Gold Medal at Tokyo Paralympics
Soon after becoming the first female athlete to win a gold medal for India in the Paralympics, Avani Lekhara expressed her feelings in an interview with SportsTak.
“Every athlete dreams of winning a medal. For the last 5 years, I was working towards representing India at the Paralympics, waiting for this moment. I was not at all thinking about a medal, I was focussing on the process, taking one shot at a time. Now I am feeling like I am on top of the world. This feeling is inexplicable.”
The 19 year also added that “This medal is not mine, it’s for the entire country. I want to dedicate this medal to the entire country.”
Twitter Reacts to Avani Lekhara’s Record breaking win at the Finals
Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with several athletes and celebrities went on Twitter to shower praise on the 19 year old Avani Lekhara for achieving an incredible feat at the Tokyo Paralympics. As a result, let’s take a look at some of the tweets.
Following her historic gold medal win, Anand Mahindra who is the chairman of Mahindra Group made a special announcement that the company will dedicate its “first-ever customised sport utility vehicle (SUV) for people with disabilities” to shooter Avani Lekhara.
Also Read: Tokyo Paralympics: Nishad Kumar wins Silver and Vinod Kumar wins Bronze medal
