Avani Lekhara wins historic shooting gold for India at Tokyo Paralympic
The 19-year-old won with an impressive score of 149.6 in Monday's final event of women's 10m air rifle standing at Tokyo. With this, Lekhara has set a new Paralympic record and has also equalled the world record.
Many in India have taken to Twitter to praise her historic achievement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called her victory an "extraordinary moment for Indian sports".Currently ranked fifth in the women's 10m air rifle standing, Tokyo is Lekhara's maiden appearance at the Paralympic Games.
China's Zhang Cuiping won silver with 248.9, and Ukraine's Iryna Schetnik stood third on the podium. But this is not all - Lekhara has a chance to win more medals as she will be competing in three other events.
A law student in the northern state of Rajasthan, she was paralysed below her waist in 2012 after a major car accident. She was 11 at that time. It was her father who encouraged her to take up sports. The 19-year-old is also trained in archery, though shooting turned out to be her ultimate calling.
According to reports, she took up the sport after reading Abhinav Bindra's, India's first individual Olympic gold medallist, autobiography.
Lekhara's gold has taken India's tally to four, putting the country on course for its best showing at the Paralympic games. Here are the other winners:
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