Paralympics 2021: Avani Lekhara equals world record, becomes first Indian para-shooter to win gold

Indian shooter Avani Lekhara on Monday made history by becoming the first Indian para-shooter to win a gold medal at the Paralympics. She scored 249.6 points to finish at the top of the podium in the women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event. With this, she also equalled Sweden's Iryna Shchetnik world record from 2018.

The ace shooter dominated the final from the word go. Avani Lekhara scored 103.3 points in stage one of the competition. She was consistent throughout and scored 10s for the majority of the final.

Gold it is! Brilliant display by @AvaniLekhara to win India its first Paralympic gold medal in shooting. Immensely proud ! Many Congratulations on your shot at history ! #Praise4Para #Tokyo2020

— Abhinav A. Bindra OLY (@Abhinav_Bindra) August 30, 2021

In stage two, that was the elimination round, she faced a challenge from China’s Cuiping Zhang, who had just one 9-pointer in the knockout. World record holder Iryna, on the other hand, finished third.

Earlier in the qualification round, Avani Lekhara finished seventh with a total score of 621.7. She had a slow start due to some technical issues but staged a good recovery to advance to the final of the Tokyo Paralympics.

Phenomenal performance @AvaniLekhara! Congratulations on winning a hard-earned and well-deserved Gold, made possible due to your industrious nature and passion towards shooting. This is truly a special moment for Indian sports. Best wishes for your future endeavours.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 30, 2021

Avani Lekhara registered scores of 104.9, 104.8 in her third and fourth attempt to stay in the game before scoring 104.1 in the final round of qualification.

Yogesh Kathunia won a silver medal in the discus throw (F56 event). He registered throws of x, 42.84, x, x, 43,55 and 44.38. His sixth attempt was his season's best throw but it fell short of his personal best of 44.47m.

Avani Lekhara helps India better its 2016 Paralympics medal tally

India is now ranked 33rd in the Paralympics medal tally with a total of five medals. The country has already bettered its 2016 Rio Paralympics tally of four medals.

Meanwhile, India still awaits a final decision on Vinod Kumar’s medal. The Indian had won bronze in discus event on Sunday but a protest was lodged against the F52 classification.

"Results of this event are currently under review due to classification observation in competition. The Victory Ceremony has been postponed to the evening session of 30th August," read a statement from the Games organisers.

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