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Avani Lekhara: 19-YO Becomes First Indian Woman To Win 2 Paralympic Medals
Trailblazing shooter Avani Lekhara on Friday became the first Indian woman to win two Paralympic medals by claiming the 50m Rifle 3 Position SH1 bronze to add to an unprecedented gold she had secured earlier in the ongoing Games in Tokyo.
The 19-year-old Lekhara, competing in her debut Games, qualified second for the event with a score of 1176, including 51 inner 10s.
In the fiercely contested finals, Lekhara totalled 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
had
become
the
first
Indian
woman
to
win
a
Paralympic
gold
by
claiming
the
top
honours
in
the
10m
air
rifle
standing
SH1
event.
That
was
also
the
first-ever
shooting
medal
that
India
had
won
in
the
Games.
"It
was
a
tough
final
but
I'm
happy
to
have
made
it
into
bronze.
I
could
have
done
better
than
this.
It's
just
what
finals
do
to
you,"
Lekhara
said
about
her
performance.
"It is an amazing experience to win two medals in my first Paralympic Games. These two are my pet events. I was really working hard for these two for so many months. I gave my 100 per cent in the last shot."
"There are a lot of things on which I have to work, and I will definitely do better than this next time. There were a lot of distractions but I gave my 100 per cent to this," she added, referring to the celebrations that followed her gold medal.
The Jaipur-based shooter, who sustained spinal cord injuries in a car accident in 2012 rendering her immobile, had fired a world record equalling total of 249.6, which was also a new Paralympic record.
Prior to her, Joginder Singh Sodhi was the lone Indian to win multiple medals in the same edition of the Games when he fetched one silver and two bronze medals in the 1984 Paralympics.
His silver came in shot put, while the two bronze medals were won in discus and javelin throw.
Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia is the other multiple Paralympic medallist but all his three medals (two gold and a silver) have come in different editions of the Games.
The gold in Friday's event was claimed by China's Zhang Cuiping with a new Games record of 457.9, while German Natascha Hiltrop took the silver with a 457.1 in the final.
Athletes in SH1 Rifle have an impairment in their legs, for example amputations or paraplegia. Some athletes compete in a seated position, while others compete in a standing position.
Lekhara is not done yet and will next be seen in the mixed 50m rifle prone SH1 event also featuring Deepak and Siddhartha Babu.
She started shooting on the insistence of her father in 2015 at a Jaipur shooting range.
"She was angry at her condition and hardly had a desire to talk to anyone. For a change, I used to take her to JDA shooting range in Jagatpura, Jaipur where she developed interest in shooting," her father Praveen Lekhara had told PTI after the gold medal win in 10m air rifle competition.
The
youngster
was
also
inspired
by
Olympic
gold-medallist
rifle
shooter
Abhinav
Bindra
after
reading
his
autobiography,
which
was
a
gift
from
her
father.
A
student
of
law,
Lekhara
made
her
debut
for
India
in
2017
World
Cup
in
Al
Ain,
UAE.
In
the
men's
event
50m
Rifle
3P,
Deepak
failed
to
qualify
for
the
finals
after
finishing
18th
with
a
score
of
1114.
With
Lekhara's
bronze,
India's
medal
tally
has
risen
to
12.
The country has won two gold, six silver and four bronze medals so far, an unprecedented and truly remarkable performance given that its combined haul for all previous Games stood at 12 before this.
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