New Delhi: Avani Lekhara shot her way into the record books at the Paris Paralympic Games on Friday by becoming the first Indian to clinch gold medals in back-to-back Games.
The 22-year-old shooter from Rajasthan retained her Tokyo Paralympics crown in women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event by scoring 249.7.
She thus surpassed her own Paralympic record of 249.6 achieved in Tokyo three years ago. Coincidentally, her Tokyo gold came on the same day – August 30.
She became the first Indian woman to bag 2 Paralympic gold medals. India’s other double-gold Paralympian is Devendra Jhajharia in men’s javelin (2004 and 2016).
Lekhara, who was left paralysed below the waist at the age of 11 in a car accident, thus sealed her legacy as one of India’s greatest Paralympians.
The icing on the cake for India on Day 2 of the Paris Paralympics came in the form of a bronze medal for Mona Agarwal in the same event. Mona’s final score was 228.7 as Korean Yunri Lee nudged her out to deny all-Indian shootout for gold.
It was a dramatic and tense finale as Lekhara dropped to second spot in the shoot-out for gold with a penultimate shot of 9.9. The Indian finished with a steady 10.5, but the Korean girl looked to be in pole position to clinch gold.
Lee, however, faltered under pressure to garner a disappointing 6.8, which gave Lekhara victory by a margin of 1.9.
Bhubaneswar: As the flood situation in Odisha remained grim amid inundation of many areas, the…
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha University of Health Sciences (OUHS) on Thursday signed a number of memoranda…
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has refused to entertain a petition seeking direction about lawyers…
Bhubaneswar: The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has urged the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)…
New Delhi: The prospect of an all-out war with Iran intensified as Israel launched a major…
Bhubaneswar: As Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) completed 100 days after coming to power in Odisha,…
Mumbai: Remember Vijayta Pandit? Yes, the younger sister of Sulakshana Pandit who burst into Bollywood…
Bhubaneswar: As the alleged custodial assault of an Army officer and his fiancée at Bharatpur…