A historic gold medal in her bag, ace Indian shooter Avani Lekhara has trained her eyes on more glory in the Paris Paralympics, saying she wants to stand on the podium in her remaining two events too.
The incredible Avani on Friday became the first Indian to claim successive Paralympic gold medals with a record-shattering top finish in the women’s 10m air rifle (SH1) shooting competition.
Winner of the Tokyo Paralympics gold three years back, Avani, 22, shot a superb 249.7 to erase her own Paralympic record of 249.6 set in the Japanese capital three years back.
RELATED: Paralympics 2024: Avani Lekhara wins gold, Mona Agarwal bronze in women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1
“It was a very close final. There was very less gap between 1, 2 and 3. I was focussing on my thought process and not the result,” Avani said after her historic win here.
“I’m happy that the Indian national anthem was the first national anthem that got played in the arena this time too. I have two more matches to go so I’m focusing on winning more medals for the country,” the champion shooter added.
Avani, who hails from Jaipur, endured a tough buildup to the Paralympics.
ALSO READ: Paralympics 2024: Manish Narwal wins silver in P1 Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 event
She grappled with a host of health issues, including a gallbladder surgery, which forced her to take a recovery break of one and half months.
But the committed shooter, who is an assistant conservator of forest with the Rajasthan government, did not let health concerns distract her from her aim of Paralympic glory.
The SH1 category is for athletes who have movement affected in their arms, lower trunk, legs or have no limbs.
Comments
SHARE