2021 Paralympics: Avani Lekhara wins bronze in  women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1 final, grabs her second medal at the Summer Games

Avani Lekhara bagged a bronze medal in the women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1 final at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics. Avani scored a 445.9 to settle for a third position finish.

Zhang Cuiping of China won the gold medal with a score of 457.9. German shooter Natascha Hilltrop bagged a silver with a score of 457.1 in the finals.

It has been a dream run for the 19-year-old Avani as she bagged her second medal at the Paralympics. She has scripted her name in India's para-history by achieving the feat. Earlier, Avani won the gold medal in R-2 women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1.

Earlier in the day, Avani finished in second position in the qualification round of the women's R8 50m rifle 3P SH1 event. She shot a total of 388, 393 and 395 in the Kneeling, Prone and Standing rounds respectively. She scored a total of 1176-51x in the qualification round.

.@AvaniLekhara, you beauty! 😍😍😍#IND's ace shooter claims a second medal in R8 - Women's 50m Rifle 3P SH1, winning #Bronze with a score of 445.9! 🔥1⃣2⃣ medals for 🇮🇳! #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics #ShootingParaSport pic.twitter.com/sJ51rQpky1

— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) September 3, 2021

Avani Lekhara's gold medal performance:

Indian shooter Avani Lekhara clinched India's first gold medal in the women's 10m AR Air Rifle Standing SH1 at the 2021 Paralympics. Not only did she win a gold medal, Avani also equalled the World Record (249.6). It was India's first gold at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.

Apart from Avani, Singhraj Adhana won gold and bronze in the men's 10m Air Pistol SH1events respectively at the mega event.

The moment💜 Outstanding from Avani Lekhara. Only 19 yrs and the youngest competitor in the final, she can only get better. Two medals: a #Gold and a #Bronze already. #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/Oi0YZoFisY

— Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) September 3, 2021

Avani Lekhara's Mixed Team 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 Qualification:

Even though it has been a successful individual shooting event at the Paralympics, the mixed team, however, did not have a great start. Team India failed to qualify for the finals of the Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 Qualification. All three shooters - Avani Lekhara, Sidhartha Babu and Deepak - finished outside the top 15 positions.

Avani Lekhara was placed 27th with a score of 629.7. Sidhartha finished with 624.9 points in 40th position whereas Deepak finished 43 with 624.9 points by the end of the qualification round.