Avani Lekhara clinched a gold medal in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 final at the Paris Paralympics 2024, marking her second gold at the Paralympics. This victory comes after she made history in 2020 by becoming the first Indian woman to win Paralympic gold.
Facing tough competition, including World Record holder Iryna Shchetnik and fellow Indian shooter Mona Agarwal, Avani showcased why she’s one of the top para-shooters globally. She scored 103.7 points across two rounds in Stage 1, staying in contention alongside Mona Agarwal, who also performed well.
As the competition intensified, Avani maintained her lead with Mona in the top three and South Korea’s Yunri Lee closely behind. Mona finished third, but the real drama unfolded in the final round. Although it seemed Avani would take silver after scoring a 9.9-pointer while Yunri shot a 10.7, the tides changed. In a dramatic twist, Avani fired a strong 10.5-pointer, while Yunri faltered under pressure with a 6.8, sealing Avani’s second Paralympic gold.
Avani also set a new Paralympic record with 249.7 points, improving her previous record by 0.1. Despite the immense pressure after her earlier triumph in Tokyo, she remained calm and delivered another historic performance. With this win, she became India’s first para-athlete to secure gold at the Paris Games.
India’s victory at the event was further sweetened by Mona Agarwal’s remarkable achievement of winning the bronze medal, which contributed to India’s medal tally. Mona ended with a final score of 228.7 and lost to Yunri Lee for a chance to set up an all-Indian shootout for gold.
India, having sent its largest contingent to the Paralympics, now looks to further increase its medal tally. Avani’s win marks the first medal in what is hoped to be a successful campaign for the nation. Other Indian athletes, including Preeti Pal in the Women’s 100m T35 final and Manu in the Men’s Shotput F37 final, also have promising events ahead.
