Shooter Avani Lekhara wins bronze at the Para Games

Shooter Lekhara wins bronze in 50m rifle 3 position; admits she could have done better

Not quite satisfied despite becoming the first Indian woman to win two Paralympic medals, shooter Avani Lekhara on Friday said she had it in her to perform better at the ongoing Games but was done in by the nerves.

Lekhara, 19, who had won the 10m air rifle standing SH1 gold, added a 50m rifle 3 position SH1 bronze to her haul, making her the first Indian woman with two Paralympic medals and second overall from the country to claim multiple medals in the same edition of the Games. “I was not satisfied with the gold only [laughs], when I won the gold, I wanted to fire that last shot better...so this bronze is definitely not satisfying,” Lekhara said.

Bout of nerves

“That’s what finals do to you, you become nervous. I am keeping all the celebrations aside and focusing on the next match, so that is my goal, to give my 100 per cent in the next event also,” she said referring to the mixed 50m rifle prone event on Sunday. Lekhara reiterated her admiration for Olympic gold-medallist Abhinav Bindra and that she always wanted to become like him. 

‘Bindra inspires me’

On Friday, she in fact went one better on him with her second medal. “When I read Abhinav Bindra sir’s autobiography, it really inspired me, because he gave his 100 per cent to what he did and he won India’s first individual gold medal. I always wanted to become like him [Bindra] and always wanted to make my country proud, so that is what inspired me a lot,” she said.

“I am very happy that I was able to get another medal for the country and it is just I still can’t believe it.” Lekhara, competing in her debut Games, qualified second for Friday’s event with a score of 1176, including 51 inner 10s.

Coach: Lekhara will continue to excel

Rifle shooter Avani Lekhara’s coach Chandra Shekhar, who has been training her at the JDA Range in Jagatpura since 2016, says that the para-athlete’s success at the Tokyo Paralympic Games is due to her temperament, intelligence and extraordinary talent, which he has seen in very few athletes.

Lekhara, 19, clinched her second medal in Tokyo, a bronze, in women’s 50m rifle 3P SH1 event on Friday. Avani had earlier won the gold medal in women’s 10m air rifle. “I can’t believe that a person, who has suffered such a terrible mishap, can come to terms with life and excel on such a big stage and be a motivation for thousands of people,” Shekhar said.

“When she was first brought to me in 2016, my first question was whether she was keen to take up shooting or was she doing it because her parents wanted her to take up the sport. Only after I got a positive feedback, I started training her and I was surprised with her keen sense of learning and intelligence.”

Also read: Tokyo Paralympics: Avani Lekhara wins gold for India in 10m air rifle

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