Know all the information, bio, age, disability, husband and career journey of Indian shooter Avani Lekhara, who won gold medal at the Paris Paralympics 2024
Avani Lekhara, born on November 8, 2001, in Jaipur, is an Indian Paralympian and rifle shooter from Jaipur in Rajasthan. At the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, she achieved a remarkable feat by winning a gold medal in the 10m air rifle standing event, successfully defending the gold she won at Tokyo, and making history with back-to-back gold medals.
Who is para shooter Avani Lekhara, biography, age, husband, state, job, disability story, ranking, and medals list
On Friday, India’s Paralympic campaign at Paris 2024 started with notable achievements from Avani Lekhara and debutant Mona Agarwal. At the age of 22, Avani reportedly clinched gold in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event with an impressive score of 249.7.
Who is Avani Lekhara?
PARALYMPIC CHAMPION, BABY 🤩🥇
Elated to have defended my Gold Medal from Tokyo 2020. Work not done yet as there’s 2 more events to follow. Focused now on doing my best in them.
Thank you for all the wishes! 🫶🏽 pic.twitter.com/owH9xkkLB7
— Avani Lekhara अवनी लेखरा PLY (@AvaniLekhara) August 30, 2024
In 2012, at the age of 11, a car accident resulted in complete paraplegia for Lekhara. Encouraged by her father to pursue sports, she initially trained in archery before discovering her true passion for shooting. She is currently studying law at the Rajasthan University. Her early education took place at Kendriya Vidyalaya 3 in Jaipur, where she won her first gold medal in a regional shooting match.
Her father is Praveen Lekhara and she is single and unmarried.
Inspired by former Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra, Lekhara began shooting in 2015 and has since accumulated numerous national and international titles. In popular culture, Lekhara has been featured in “My Indian Life,” a program presented by Kalki Koechlin and broadcast by the BBC World Service, which examines the lives of young Indian adults in the twenty-first century, showcasing stories that are both inspiring and challenging.
- Age: 22-year-old
- Date of Birth: 8 November 2001
- Height: 5’3”
- State: Rajasthan
- Rank: 1 (WR), 1 (AR)
- Event: Air Rifle SH1
At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, Lekhara won a gold medal in the 10m air rifle standing event and a bronze medal in the 50m rifle 3 positions. On September 3, 2021, Lekhara became the first Indian female Paralympian to win two medals in Paralympics history, earning a bronze in the women’s 50m air rifle standing event. The Government of Rajasthan has recognized her achievements with an out-of-turn appointment as Assistant Conservator of Forest.
we examine the list of awards given to Avani:
| Year | Award/Recognition | Organization |
| 2021 | Khel Ratna Award | India |
| 2021 | Young Indian of the Year | GQ India |
| 2021 | Vogue Women of the Year | Vogue Magazine |
| 2021 | Best Female Debut | Paralympic Awards – International Paralympic Committee |
| 2022 | Padma Shri | India |
| 2022 | FICCI FLO Award for Excellence in Sports | FICCI |
| 2022 | She – Age Award | Hindustan Times |
| 2022 | Para Athlete of the Year (Female) | Sportstar |
| 2022 | BBC India Change Maker Of The Year 2021 | BBC India |
| 2022 | BRICS CCI WE – Trailblazer 2022 | BRICS CCI |