Tokyo: 19-year-old Avani Lekhara won her second medal at the Tokyo Paralympics today. Clinching a bronze medal in the SH1 three-position category of the women’s 50-meter rifle, she became the most successful female athlete in India. Lekhara qualified for sixth place, but after two rounds of competition, she found herself struggling in sixth place and regrouped. At the crucial moment, Lekhara scored an impressive 10.5 points, beating fourth-seeded Iryna Shchetnik of Ukraine.
Lekhara finished with 445.9 points, while Chinese player Zhang Cuiping won the third consecutive gold medal at the Paralympic Games with a personal best of 457.9. Silver went to Natasha Hilltop in Germany and her score was 457.1. With this medal, India’s points rose to 12, which is also the second medal for the day after Praveen Kumar bagged a silver.
TT player Bhavina Patel opened the Indian record at the current Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Avani, javelin thrower Sumit Antil won the gold medal, and Nishad Kumar, Devendra Jhajharia, Praveen Kumar, Yogesh Kathuniya and Mariyappan Thangavelu grabbed silver. Sundar Singh Gurjar, Singhraj Adhana and Sharad Kumar got home the bronze medals.
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