Tokyo Paralympics: Shooter Avani Lekhara creates history, becomes first Indian woman to win gold at Games

Avani Lekhara won India's first gold on Monday (August 30) in Tokyo Paralympics by winning the women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event. Avani, 19, created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a Paralympics gold medal. Avani created a a Paralympic Record and also equalled the World Record with 249.6 points on way to clinch the coveted medal.

China's Cuiping Zhang won silver by scoring 248.9 points while Ukraine's Iryna Shchetnik settled for bronze.

Avani Lekhara started the final confidently and kept on scoring consistently above 10 points. Only two shot of Avani's went below 10 in the 1st competition stage which helped her grab the second position.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Avani and tweeted, "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."

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.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 30, 2021

Earlier, Avani finished seventh in the qualification round after scoring 621.7 points. The young shooter however recovered superbly to reach the final of the event.