Avani Lekhara on Friday scripted history at the Paris Paralympics 2024 by winning gold for India at the prestigious event. Avani Lekhara won gold for India in the Women's 10m air Rifle SH1 event with a score of 249.7 Avni not only won gold at Paris Paralympics 2024 but she did it in style. Avni with gold at 249.7 points bettering her own Paralympic Record of 249.6 from Tokyo 2020. With this Avni Lekhara became the first Indian woman to win two gold medals at Paralympics. Apart from Avni, India's Mona Agarwal won a bronze medal for India at the same event. With this, India secured two medals in the same event. Now, the question arises who is Avani Lekhara, the golden girl of Indian shooting? Below is all about Avani Lekhara-
Who is Avani Lekhara?
After a road accident in February 2012, Avani Lekhara's body below the waist was paralyzed. Before winning gold at the Paris Paralympics 2024, she won gold for India during the Tokyo Paralympics 2020. Avani Lekhara is 22 years old and hails from Jaipur, Rajasthan.
Avani's father Praveen Lekhara after she won during the Tokyo Paralympics had said that Avani was a victim of a car accident on 20 February 2012, when she was only 11 years old. The accident caused severe spinal cord injury and paralysis of her body below the waist. Since then she has been confined to a wheelchair. Praveen Lekhra said, "Before the accident, she was very active and used to participate in every activity but the accident changed her life. She was angry at her condition and hardly wanted to talk to anyone. For a change, I took her to the JDA shooting range in Jagatpura, Jaipur, where she developed an interest in shooting."
Praveen further revealed that he also gave Avni the biography of shooter Abhinav Bindra to read and after reading it, Avni thought that she could also do the shooting, and from April 2015 she started going to the shooting range almost regularly. According to the father, however, initially, she had to face difficulties in driving the wheelchair which was not according to the norms. Apart from this, guns and shooting kits were also not available.