Avani Lekhara took up shooting in 2015 and won India's first gold medal in para-shooting at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. In 2021, she was awarded the Khel Ratna Award, the highest sporting honour in India.
Ace Indian shooter Avani Lekhara missed out on a second medal at the ongoing Paralympic Games and finished fifth after putting up a strong fight in the final of the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 competition here on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old Avani, paralysed waist-down owing to a car accident she suffered as an 11-year-old, shot a total of 420.6 across the three stages of kneeling, prone and standing in a world-class eight-woman field.
She led the final briefly but slipped to sixth place at the end of the prone stage, which is not her strong area as it causes her problems owing to positioning.
The Indian ace was doing well in the standing stage, her strong suit, but then an unexpected 8.3 did not help her cause.
The SH1 class is designated for athletes with lower-limb impairment for competition in rifle shooting events. Here shooters are able hold their gun without difficulty and shoot from a standing or sitting position (in a wheelchair or chair).
Earlier in the day, Avani entered the final of the competition after finishing the qualification in seventh place. Avani shot a total of 1159 in the qualification.
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