Indian Shooter Avani Lekhara Wins Best Female Debut Honour At Paralympic Awards 2021

Avani Lekhara, a decorated Indian shooter won the 'Best Female Debut' at the Paralympic Awards 2021 for her recording-breaking gold medal at the Olympics this year.

The 20-year-old athlete from Jaipur was met with a car accident in 2012 after she suffered a spinal cord injury. She won the gold medal in the women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event at the Tokyo Olympics 2021. With her win, came at par with the world record and broke the Paralympic Games record.

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Best Female Debut Paralympic Games Award To Avani Lekhara:

She did not just win one gold medal but also a bronze one at the 50m Rifle Three Positions Standing SH1 event. She became the only Indian female to two medals in the Paralympic Games history. Lekhara was given the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award by the Indian government for her achievement. It is the country's highest sporting honour.

In a video posted by the Paralympic Games, Avani Lekhara said, "It is an hour for me to win this award. The focus was always on giving my best shot and bringing back medals for my country and showing that anything is possible with hard work, dedication and passion." She recalled her experience at her first Paralympic Games this year and how approached the competition one shot at a time.

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She added that it was a dream come true moment for her. When she came back to India after winning at the Olympics, she went to her school and the kids there to her and said that they were inspired by her to take up the sport, she said.

"It is amazing but with success comes a lot of responsibility," she added. At the Paralympic Games earlier this year, India for the first time won 19 medals. Five of them were gold, six bronze and eight silver medals.