At 2024 Paralympics Avani Lekhara wins India’s first gold in 10m air rifle
On Friday August 30, 2024 AvaniLekhara became the first Indian woman to win two Paralympic gold medal with her victory in the women’s 10m air rifle event as compatriot Mona Agarwal claimed a bronze. This is the first gold medal for India at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
Three years ago the winner of the Tokyo Paralympics gold, Avani shot a superb 249.7 to erase her own record of 249.6 set in Japanese capital, while Mona, who took up shooting sport in 2022, notched up 228.7 for the bronze.
Avani is wheel-chair bound after a car mishap left her paralysed below the waist when she was 11-years-old, had became the first woman shooter from the country to win medals in shooting at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.
SH1 category in shooting involves athletes who have movement affected in their arms, lower trunk, legs or have no limbs.
In the qualification, defending champion Avani shot 625.8 to be placed second behind IrynaShchetnik, who broke the Paralympic qualification record with a score of 627.5.
Mona, the two-time World Cup gold medallist competing in her maiden Paralympics, shot 623.1 in the qualification and entered the final in fifth place.