Tokyo: Avani Lekhara, India's trailblazing shooter, became the first Indian woman to win two Paralympic medals. Earlier she won a gold medal in 10m air rifle standing and is now backed up with a bronze medal in the 50 m Rifle SH1.
19-year-old Avani Lekhara qualified second for the event with a score of 1176, including 51 inner 10s. In the finals, Lekhara totaled a score of 445.9 to finish ahead of Ukraine’s Iryna Shchetnik, who let slip her grip on the medal spot with a poor third shot of 9.9 in the elimination.
Lekhara is the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold by claiming the top honors in the 10m air rifle standing SH1 event.
The Jaipur-based shooter, Lekhara sustained spinal cord injuries in a car accident in 2012. She had backed up a world record-equalling a total of 249.6, which is a new Paralympic record.
Before Lekhara, it was Joginder Singh Sodhi, who was the lone Indian to win multiple medals in the same edition of the Games. He fetched one silver and two bronze medals in the 1984 Paralympics.
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