Tokyo Paralympics Update: Avani Lekhara Becomes the First Indian Woman to Win Two Medals in Paralympics
The 19-year-old shooter Avani Lekhara made history on Friday by winning two medals in the Tokyo Paralympics 2020. She has two medals by claiming the 50m Rifle 3 Position SH1 bronze to add to an unprecedented gold she had secured earlier. For Lekhara, she was competing in her debut game and made the country proud by qualifying second for the shooting event with a score of 1176, including 51 inner 10s. On the day of the finals, the 19-year-old totaled 445.9 and managed to finish ahead of Ukraine’s Iryna Shchetnik, who lost her medal due to a poor third shot during the elimination. Lekhara also proudly became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal by winning the top 10 honours in the 10m air rifle standing SH1 event. Praising her tremendous performance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “More glory at the Tokyo #Paralympics. Elated by the stupendous performance of @AvaniLekhara. Congratulations to her on bringing home the Bronze medal. Wishing her the very best in her future endeavours. #Praise4Para” Anurag Thakur, Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs joined in on the praise bandwagon and tweeted, “India’s Golden Girl – Amazing Avani!!! @AvaniLekhara has been absolutely awesome at #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics by winning her 2nd medal! History has been made! Third place medal in Women’s 50m Rifle 3P SH1 final.” Source: Times of India