As her coach Suma Shirur puts it, Avani Lekhara is a fighter. This is true of all Paralympians. The very fact that they made it to Tokyo, and then the podium, highlights the resilience. But her age and achievements at her debut Paralympics shine a brighter light on what sets the teen shooting star apart.
At 19, she is the first Indian woman to win a Paralympics gold medal and only the second Indian to win multiple medals at the same Games. She won gold in the women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 – India’s first in the sport – and followed it up with the bronze in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1. That is two medals from the four events she participated in (Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 and the mixed 50m Rifle Prone event being the other two).
Tokyo 2020: Meet shooter Avani Lekhara, the first Indian woman to win two medals at Paralympics
Even for many able-bodies rifle shooters, balancing the 10m and 50m 3P is a challenging task. The distance is not the only…
