Avani Lekhara is a famous Indian Paralympian and a rifle shooter. She got popular with the gold medal she won at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020. At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, she also won a bronze medal in 50 m rifles in three positions.
Avani Lekhara’s Personal Life
Avani Lekhara was born on November 8, 2001 to Praveen Lekhra and Shweta Lekhara. Her father, Praveen Lekhra, and her mother, Shweta Lekhara, are both state tax officers in the government sector. She belongs to Rajasthan and completed her primary studies at Kendriya Vidyalaya 3 in Jaipur. After schooling, she is currently studying law in Rajasthan.
After the accident, her father motivated her to get admitted into sports. Her father enrolled her in archery coaching, but she switched the sport and chose shooting. She found shooting to be her passion instead of archery. Her role model is Abhinav Bindra. Abhinav Bindra is also an Olympic champion. She started shooting in 2015 and has won many national and international awards.
The Turning Point
She met with a car accident in 2012, at 11, due to which she got “paraplegia”. Paraplegia is a form of leg paralysis that usually affects the body’s nervous system and spinal cord. Due to the accident at a very early age, Avani has developed mental pain that she can not live as an ordinary girl.
The Shooting Career of Avani Lekhara
The shooting career of Avani started in 2015 when she grabbed gold at the National Shooting Championship 2015 at the State Level in Rajasthan. After a gap of 2 years, Avani again bags a silver medal at the AI Ain Shooting World Cup 2017. She won the medal in the category of women’s 10 air rifles in the SH1. In the same year, she won two awards, a silver medal at the Dubai Paralympic Championships in 2017 and a bronze medal in Bangkok at the WSPS World Cup.
She showed the best of her performance at the “World Shooting Para Sport World Cup 2018,” where she grabbed three gold medals in different events. The medals were won in 10 m rifles, prone and three-position events. With the same fantastic performance, Avani continued the game. In 2019, she again won three gold medals and a bronze medal in a single championship. She grabbed three medals in the 63rd National Shooting Championship.
Medal after medal, Avani participated in the 19th Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting Championship. She won a total of four medals. Among the four medals, three were gold and one silver medal in the 10 m rifle. In 2021, the Paralympic Championships were going to happen. This championship was a golden chance for Avani, and she got an opportunity to represent the country at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020. The category was women’s 10m rifle, three positions, SH1. She created history by winning gold at the Tokyo Paralympic Championships 2020.
The Likings of Avani :
Avani is fond of reading books, travelling to foreign countries, and loves to pet dogs. She also has a pet, a dog.
