Tokyo Paralympics: Shooter Avani Lekhara wins gold medal

Avani Lekhara won the women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event today, giving India its first gold medal at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics.

The 19-year-old creates history as she becomes the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold medal. With 249.6 points, Avani does it in style with a Paralympic Record and Equal World Record.

China's Cuiping Zhang grabbed silver by scoring 248.9 points while Ukraine's Iryna Shchetnik won bronze.

She qualified for the final finishing 7th in the qualification round with a total score of 621.7. Avani staged a good recovery after a slow start to advance to the finals of the showpiece event.

She registered good scores of 104.9, 104.8 in her third and fourth attempt to be in the game before scoring 104.1 in the final round of qualification. The Indian shooter will now lock horns in the finals of the showpiece event.

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Congratulatory messages poured in for Lekhara with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the way.

"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," tweeted PM Modi.

This is India's fourth confirmed medal of the Games. High jumper Nishad Kumar and table tennis player Bhavani Patel had both won silver on Sunday while discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya confirmed a medal for himself in the F56 event on Monday. Vinod Kumar had won bronze in the F52 discus throw event but his result has been put under review.

Lekhara became the fourth Indian athlete to win a gold medal at the Paralympics after swimmer Murlikant Petkar in 1972, javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia in 2004 and 2006 and high jumper Thangavelu Mariyappan in 2016.

(For more updates stay tuned with DNP India)