Bringing glory to the nation yet again, Avani Lekhra has bagged the Best Female Debut award at the 2021 Paralympic Sports Awards. India’s first woman to bag a gold medal in Olympic or Paralympic Games, the ace shooter from Jaipur was honoured in a virtual ceremony on Thursday. Notably, the 19-year old broke the paralympic record and won a gold medal at Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
It’s an honour for me to win this award: Avani
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At the virtual ceremony organised on Thursday, athletes were awarded across seven categories including Best Female, Best Male, Best Female Debut, Best Male Debut, Best Team, Best Official and BP Courage Award. With a remarkable win equalling the World record in the women’s 10m SH1 air rifle, Avani became the first woman in India to bring home gold at the Paralympics, this year.
Among many firsts, this teenager from Jaipur also holds the title of being the first Indian to get a medal in shooting at Paralympics. Notably, with a bronze in women’s 50m SH1 air rifle standing, the shooter also bagged the tag of being the first Indian woman to win two medals at the Paralympics.
Talking about the glorious victory, Avani Lekhra said, “It’s an honour for me to win this award. The focus was always on giving my best shot, bringing home medals for my country, and showing that anything is possible with hard work, dedication, and passion.”
“I went there, and I just thought ‘take one shot at a time’, and that’s what I did. Just keeping my focus on the process, I was able to win a gold medal for my country,” added the athlete.
Adding yet another first to the list, Avani is India’s first and the only female sportsperson to receive this honour, recognising her achievements in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
