Paralympics: Lakshya’s darling Avani is now the toast of the nation

The
19-year-old,
who
is
a
trainee
of
Olympian
shooter
Suma
Shirur
at
Lakshya
created
history
in
Tokyo
when
she
became
the
first
Indian
woman
athlete
to
win
a
Paralympics
gold
with
her
total
of
249.6
in
the
10M
Air
Rifle
Standing
SH1.

En
route
to
winning
the
yellow
metal,
Avani
also
created
a
new
Paralympics
record
while
also
equalling
the
world
record.

Paralympics:
Avani
Lekhara
wins
India
first
gold

Born
in
Jaipur,
Rajasthan,
Avani
took
to
shooting
in
April
2015,
and
started
training
under
Suma
in
early
2018.

Since
then,
it
has
been
a
memorable
journey
for
Avani,
fulfilling
her
dream
of
qualifying
for
the
Paralympics
with
a
gold-medal
winning
feat.
She
had
already
won
a
bronze
medal
in
R2
at
the
WSPS
World
Cup
in
Bangkok,
2017
and
bettered
the
colour
of
the
medal
to
silver
in
the
next
two
World
Cups
in
Osijek
(Croatia)
in
2019
and
Al
Ain
(UAE)
this
year.

Avani
Lekhara:
All
you
need
to
know
about
Paralympics
gold
winner

Also
supported
by
GoSports
and
TOPS
since
long,
Avani
has
been
visiting
Lakshya
regularly
to
hone
her
skills.
She
was
not
made
to
feel
any
different
from
the
normal
shooters
at
the
club
and
is
the
darling
of
everyone
at
Lakshya.

“The
range
at
the
Lakshya
Shooting
Club
is
on
the
first
floor,
but
we
made
sure
that
she
had
no
difficulty
in
coming
and
going
as
all
the
shooters
of
the
club
gelled
with
her
so
much
that
she
was
carried
up
the
stairs
in
her
wheelchair
every
day
by
her
shooting
colleagues,”
said
Suma,
who
was
with
Avani
on
her
hour
of
glory
in
Tokyo.

GOLD
IT
IS!
As
a
coach
couldn’t
have
been
any
more
proud
of

@AvaniLekhara
and
her
performance
today!
India’s
first
woman
to
win
a
gold
medal
at
Olympics
or

#Paralympics
&
with
a
world
record.
Surely
more
to
come
from
her
in
the
future
too!

#Praise4Para@ParalympicIndia
@Tokyo2020
pic.twitter.com/LJMC1wambf

—
Suma
Shirur
OLY
(@SumaShirur)

August
30,
2021

“She
is
the
darling
of
the
club
with
her
enchanting
smile
and
demeanour.
The
women’s
restroom
at
the
club
was
remodelled
to
include
para-friendly
features
overnight
before
Avani’s
arrival
on
the
first
day,”
added
Suma.

While
Avani
did
10-15
day-long
high
performance
personal
sessions
with
Suma
at
Lakshya
three
or
four
times
a
year,
the
restrictions
imposed
due
to
the
coronavirus
(COVID-19)
pandemic
since
the
last
year
did
not
deter
her
from
improving
and
achieving
her
goals.

“The
COVID-19
posed
fresh
challenges
and
restricted
travel,
but
Avani
kept
at
it
training
at
home
and
in
regular
touch
with
me
through
Zoom
call
sessions
and
long
phone
calls,”
Suma
added.

Lakshya
Shooting
Club
Secretary
Siddharth
Shirur,
shared
Suma’s
views,
“Right
now
my
club
is
on
Cloud
9.”

Prime
Minister
congratulates
Avani
Lekhara
for
winning
Tokyo
Paralympics
gold
medal

Ranked
fifth
in
the
world,
Avani
has
given
her
entries
in
three
other
events
also
—
Mixed
Air
Rifle
Pone
(to
be
held
on
September
1),
Women’s
50M
Rifle
3
positions
(to
be
held
on
September
3)
and
Mixed
50M
Rifle
Prone
(September
5)
–
making
it
four
in
all
at
these
Games
in
her
maiden
appearance.

Speaking
from
Tokyo,
an
elated
Avani
said,
“I
feel
so
happy
and
grateful
right
now
for
this
medal.
I
can’t
explain
how
I
feel.
I
feel
right
on
top
of
the
world.
I
dedicate
my
medal
to
all
the
Indians.
It’s
just
the
start.
I’ve
a
lot
of
competition
days
ahead
and
more
medals
to
come.
I
have
three
more
matches
and
am
focusing
on
them
and
giving
my
100
per
cent.

(Source:
Lakhsya
Shooting
Club)