Indian para-shooter Avani Lekhara scripted history by becoming the first Indian female athlete to win the gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics by winning the women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event.
The 19-year-old shooter from Jaipur is only the fourth Indian athlete ever to win the gold medal at the Paralympics event. With a record-equalling score of 249.6, Avani won the final round and clinched the gold medal. China's Cuiping Zhang won silver by scoring 248.9 points while Ukraine's Iryna Shchetnik settled for bronze.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Avani and tweeted, "Phenomenal performance@AvaniLekhara ! Congratulations on winning a hard-earned and well-deserved Gold, made possible due to your industrious nature and passion towards shooting. This is truly a special moment for Indian sports. Best wishes for your future endeavours."
Avani Lekhara suffered spinal chord injuries following a car accident back in 2012.
'I can't describe this feeling, I'm feeling like I'm on top of the world. It's unexplainable. I'm so happy I could be the one to contribute it. Hopefully there's a lot of medals more to come,' Avani said media following her gold medal winning feat.
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