Avani becomes first Indian woman to claim Gold

TOKYO: Shooter Avani Lekhara on Monday became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in the Paralympic Games. The 19-year-old bagged gold, India's first at Tokyo 2020, in women's 10m Air Rifle SH1 with a world record score of 249.6 in the final on Monday.

This is also India's first gold medal in shooting in the Paralympic Games. Overall, she is the fourth Indian sportsperson to win a Paralympic gold after swimmer Murlikant Petkar (1972), javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia (2004 and 2016), and high jumper Thangavelu Mariyappan (2016).

Indeed, Avani is the first Indian female athlete to win a gold medal in either Olympics or the Paralympics. The silver medals won by Deepa Malik in 2016 Rio and para-table tennis player Bhavina Patel on Sunday were the best efforts by Indian female sportspersons at the Paralympics. PV Sindhu and Mirabai Chanu have won silver medals for India in the Olympics.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to congratulate the shooter, tweeiting, "Phenomenal performance @AvaniLekhara! Congratulations on winning a hard-earned and well-deserved Gold, made possible due to your industrious nature and passion towards shooting. This is truly a special moment for Indian sports. Best wishes for your future endeavours." IANS

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