Lekhara defends her crown: A list of India’s golden girl’s biggest achievements

Avani Lekhara on Friday became the first Indian to defend a Paralympic title when she won the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 at the Paris Paralympics. Lekhara surpassed her own Paralympic record to finish with a score of 249.7; she ended at 249.6 at the previous Paralympics in Tokyo. In a dramatic final round of shooting Lekhara had to endure a significant drop in the shoot-out for the gold. Her penultimate shot, a 9.9, temporarily dropped her to second place behind Korea’s Yunri Lee, who seemed poised to claim the top spot.
However, Lekhara then managed a 10.5 with her final shot, putting her back into the top spot. Lee faltered under pressure, delivering a disappointing 6.8, which allowed Lekhara to clinch the gold by a significant margin of 1.9, sealing her legacy as one of India’s finest Paralympians at the age of 22.
Avani had endured a tough buildup to the Paralympics, having to undergo a gallbladder surgery, and dealing with a number of other health issues which forced her to take a recovery break of one and half months. She lost quite a bit of weight following the surgery but the determination to overcome all odds was all too evident during the national camp at the Karni Singh ranges, where she worked hard on regaining her strength and mentally steeling herself for Paris.
– First Indian to succesfully defend a Paralympic gold medal
– Broke her own Paralympic record score of 249.6 set at Tokyo 2020 with 29.7 to win gold at Paris 2024
– First Indian woman to win two Paralympic golds and second overall after javelin thrower Devendra Jajharia (Athens 2004 and Rio 2016)
– First Indian woman to win multiple medals at the Paralympics when she won a gold and bronze at Tokyo 2020
– First Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold medal (Tokyo 2020)
– Was conferred the Khel Ratna in 2021, India’s highest sporting honour
– Won the Padma Shri in 2022, one of India’s highest civilian awards.