Avani Lekhara

Avani Lekhara is a rifle shooter and Paralympian who has used a wheelchair since a road accident in 2012. At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics she became the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold medal and the first to win two medals at the same Games. She was named for the Padma Shri in 2022 in the field of sports, from Rajasthan ^[1].

Early medals

Lekhara was born on 8 November 2001 ^[2]. From her first national shooting championship in 2015 she began winning medals for Rajasthan, and she set junior world records ^[2]. She won silver medals at World Shooting Para Sport World Cups in Al Ain in 2017 and 2021 and in Croatia in 2019, and a bronze in Bangkok in 2017 ^[2].

Tokyo 2020

At the Tokyo Paralympics she won gold in the women’s 10m air rifle standing event, scoring 249.6 in the final to set a Paralympic record and equal the world record ^[2]. She added a bronze in the 50m rifle three positions ^[2]. At the time of the award she was ranked second in the world in the 10m air rifle standing event ^[2].

She received the Khel Ratna, India’s highest sporting honour, in 2021, and was named best female debut at the 2021 Paralympic Awards ^[2]. Alongside her shooting she was studying law at the University of Rajasthan, and was appointed a trainee assistant conservator of forests in the state ^[2].