Avani Lekhara is India’s first female Paralympian with 3 medals

After being the first Indian woman to win three gold in a single event at the Paralympics, Avani Lekhara made history. The 22-year-old accomplished this after taking home the gold medal in the women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 Finals at Chateauroux – Final Range on Friday, August 30.

Joginder Singh Bedi and Devendra Jhajharia are the other two Indians with three medals. With a score of 249.7, Lekhara emerged victorious and set a new Paralympic record. The gunman surpassed her own record of 249.6, which she had set three years prior in Tokyo.

The world record of 252 is held by Iryna Schetnik of Ukraine, who set it back in 2023. With a score of 228.7, Mona Agarwal took home the bronze in the shooting competition held in Paris, while Yunri Lee of South Korea took home the silver with a score of 246.8.

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Regarding Avani, she performed admirably in the qualification round, coming in second with a score of 625.8. Mona, who scored 623.1, was also able to get in the top 8.

Lekhara, a Jaipur native born in 2001, had a life-altering injury in 2012 that left her paraplegic at the age of 11. Despite this obstacle, she focused on shooting sports and underwent intense training to become a competitive parashooter. Lekhara made history at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics when she won the gold medal in the women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event, making history as the first Indian woman to do so.

Lekhara also admires the renowned Abhinav Bindra, who in 2008 captured India’s first individual gold medal at the Olympics in Beijing.

“I kind of fell into the sport by accident. We were on summer break while I was in class nine. I experimented with a lot of activities, including swimming and archery. The obvious choice was the [Jagatpura] shooting range because it’s near to my Jaipur home. I received 10–20 bullets in the black circle my first time at the range. Then, the instructor there advised me to give the sport my all attention. I grew to love the sport as I advanced to the next level of competition. I felt secure and delighted when I was shooting,” Lekhara had said.

Lekhara has received several honors and recognition for her accomplishments, including the esteemed Padma Shri award in 2021. Lekhara has three medals as well.