The 19-year-old Avani who hails from Jaipur has also set a new Paralympic record.
Indian shooter Avani Lekhara won a gold medal in the R-2 women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event at the Tokyo Paralympics on Monday. She scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to clinch a gold medal at the Paralympics and also made a world record with a total 249.6.
The 19-year-old Avani who hails from Jaipur has also set a new Paralympic record. Ms Lekhara had met with a car accident in 2012 in which she had sustained spinal cord injuries. She has become the fourth Indian athlete to win a Paralympics gold medal. Earlier, swimmer Murlikant Petkar won in 1972, javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia won gold twice in 2004 and 2016 and high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu won gold in 2016.
Ms Lekhara said that she was happy to contribute and hoped that a lot of medals will be won in future. Chinese Cuiping Zhangh who had won gold in 2016 Rio Games, took home silver with a score of 248.9 and Iryna Shchetnik of Ukraine, who is world number one and reigning world champion won bronze with a score of 227.5.
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