Paris Paralympics 2024: Avani wins Gold; Mona clinches Bronze in 10m air rifle
India’s account has opened in a great way on the second day of Paris Paralympics 2024. India got 2 medals in one go. Star para shooter Avani Lekhara has put the gold medal in India’s bag. She hit the gold medal in the 10m air rifle SH1 final event. At the same time, Mona Agarwal won the bronze medal. By winning 2 medals in the same event, India’s para athletes have made a great start in the Paris Paralympics.
Earlier, Avani Lekhara had performed brilliantly in the qualification round and got a ticket to the final. Avni finished second in the qualification round with a score of 625.8 and missed the Paralympic record. Her score was only 0.2 points less than the Paralympic record. At the same time, Mona was at number five with a score of 623.1.
Created a record by winning 2 golds in a row
Avni first came into the limelight when she did the big feat of winning the gold medal in the SH1 category in the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago. She has the record of winning two medals in a single Paralympics. In the Tokyo Paralympics, she won the gold medal in the 10m air rifle while she won the bronze medal in the 50m rifle three-position. With the medal win in Paris, she has now become the first Indian female para athlete to win a gold medal in 2 consecutive Paralympics.
Took inspiration from Abhinav Bindra
12 years ago, Avni had a terrible car accident in which she suffered a serious spinal injury. Due to this injury, the lower part of her body became paralyzed but she did not give up. Taking inspiration from Abhinav Bindra’s autobiography, she started practicing shooting and now has created a new history by winning gold medals in 2 consecutive Paralympics. Avni uses a wheelchair since suffering a serious injury to the lower part of the body in a car accident. The SH1 category in shooting is for shooters who have impaired movement of the arms, lower torso, legs, or who have a disorder of their hands or feet.
