Paralympics: Lakshya's darling Avani is now the toast of the nation

Bengaluru, August 30: Monday morning as India woke up to the news of Avani Lekhara winning the country its first gold medal at Paralympics 2020 in Tokyo, the Lakshya Shooting Club in Karnala Sports Academy in Panvel, Mumbai, was basking in glory, for it was their that the Rajasthan-born para shooter had her initiation into the sport.

The 19-year-old, who is a trainee of Olympian shooter Suma Shirur at Lakshya, created history in Tokyo when she became the first Indian woman athlete to win a Paralympics gold with her total of 249.6 in the 10M Air Rifle Standing SH1.

En route to winning the yellow metal, Avani also created a new Paralympics record while also equalling the world record.

Paralympics: Avani Lekhara wins India first gold

Born in Jaipur, Avani took up the sport in April 2015, and started training under Suma in early 2018.

Since then, it has been a memorable journey for Avani, fulfilling her dream of qualifying for the Paralympics with a gold-medal winning feat.

She had already won a bronze medal in R2 at the WSPS World Cup in Bangkok, 2017 and bettered the colour of the medal to silver in the next two World Cups in Osijek (Croatia) in 2019 and Al Ain (UAE) this year.

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Also supported by GoSports and TOPS since long, Avani has been visiting Lakshya regularly to hone her skills. She was not made to feel any different from the normal shooters at the club and is the darling of everyone at Lakshya.

"The range at Lakshya is on the first floor, but we made sure that she had no difficulty in coming and going as all the shooters of the club gelled with her so much that she was carried up the stairs in her wheelchair every day by her shooting colleagues," said Suma, who was with Avani on her hour of glory in Tokyo.

GOLD IT IS! As a coach couldn’t have been any more proud of @AvaniLekhara and her performance today! India’s first woman to win a gold medal at Olympics or #Paralympics & with a world record. Surely more to come from her in the future too! #Praise4Para@ParalympicIndia @Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/LJMC1wambf

— Suma Shirur OLY (@SumaShirur) August 30, 2021

"She is the darling of the club with her enchanting smile and demeanour. The women's restroom at the club was remodelled to include para-friendly features overnight before Avani's arrival on the first day," added Suma.

While Avani did 10-15 day-long high performance personal sessions with Suma at Lakshya three or four times a year, the restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic since the last year did not deter her from improving and achieving her goals.

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"The COVID-19 posed fresh challenges and restricted travel, but Avani kept at it training at home and in regular touch with me through Zoom call sessions and long phone calls," Suma added.

Lakshya's secretary Siddharth Shirur, shared Suma's views, "Right now my club is on Cloud 9."

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Ranked fifth in the world, Avani has given her entries in three other events also -- Mixed Air Rifle Pone (to be held on September 1), Women's 50M Rifle 3 positions (to be held on September 3) and Mixed 50M Rifle Prone (September 5) - making it four in all at these Games in her maiden appearance.

Speaking from Tokyo, an elated Avani said, "I feel so happy and grateful right now for this medal. I can't explain how I feel. I feel right on top of the world. I dedicate my medal to all the Indians. It's just the start. I've a lot of competition days ahead and more medals to come. I have three more matches and am focusing on them and giving my 100 per cent.

(Source: Lakhsya Shooting Club)