Paris Paralympics: Avani Lekhara defends her Tokyo gold, few months after surgery for painful gallbladder stones

At the Tokyo Paralympics, the then 19-year-old shooter had created history when she became the second Indian to win multiple medals in the same Paralympics – gold in women’s 10m air rifle SH 1 and bronze in 50m 3P event in the same category.

The last time an Indian won more medals that her at a single Paralympics was Joginder Singh Sodhi – three medals in the 1984 games.

Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 – Medal Ceremony – Asaka Shooting Range, Tokyo, Japan – August 30, 2021. Gold Medallist Avani Lekhara of India celebrates on the podium. (REUTERS/Issei Kato)

Her coach Chandra Shekar recalls how challenging it was for Avani to get back to shooting after a period of rest post the surgery.

“Avani competed in the New Delhi World Cup last year with consistent pain and it would hamper her progress too. Post the surgery this year, she was advised to rest for two months and when she restarted, weakened muscles was the main challenge. So we returned to the basics for some days making her do dry/shadow loading. Her body would shake sometimes during the shooting due to the weak neuro muscular memory post the recovery. Once her neuro muscular memory regained to full, we went for the full number of targets and she was on track before Paris,” recalls coach Shekar.

Fateful road accident

It was a fateful day in 2011, which set her on course to become a shooter. The family were involved in a car accident on the Jaipur-Dholpur highway. Avani, 11-years-old back then, suffered spinal cord injuries and became paralyzed from waist below.

“Post the accident, Avani would spend more than 90 days at SMS Hospital in Jaipur and then at the Indian Spinal Injury Centre in Delhi. It took her close to three years to regain some strength. While she watched dance performances on television, she would read books and it made her happy,” her father recalled.

Three years after the accident, she started shooting at the Jagatpura Shooting Range and would then start training under coach Shekar in 2016 with a rented air rifle.

Within a year, the youngster would win titles in para nationals apart from a silver medal in WSPS World Cup in AL Ain and a bronze in the World Cup in Bangkok. Having competed in 10m air rifle, the youngster would also start competing in 50m rifle 3 P SH 1 event.

Tokyo Paralympic champion Avani Lekhara claimed a gold medal at Hangzhou Asian Para Games. (PHOTO: Paralympic India)

“Avani’s biggest strength from day one was her mental strength and that has always propelled her. I knew that we had to slowly build her physical strength. She started training with a Feinwerkbau junior rifle. We had to work on her shoulder position as well as finding the right balance with the rifle in the 10m air rifle. In 50m 3P events, where she had to adjust to the modified kneeling and prone positions for the shooters having paraplegia/non functioning limbs, she would need some time to adjust and get a suitable position,” coach Shekar recalls.

At Tokyo, Avani had won the bronze medal in 50m 3P event days after she won the 10m air rifle gold. Coach Shekar remembers how she would prepare for the gruelling events.

“Competing in the 10m air rifle helped her a lot in the standing series. In the kneeling position we had to make her adjust her elbow on the circular piece on the flat board and initially we would only do dry/shadow shooting before he she started hitting 20-30 shots,” recalls the coach.

The last six years have also seen Avani train under her personal coach and former national coach of 10m Rifle Olympic events Suma Shirur.

Finding the right adjustment as well as load positions for the young shooter was the challenge. “Her mental strength helped her understand the basics of shooting well. When we made some adjustments like best suited load position and established the base with the support of her upper body unlike a normal shooter, who uses his feet to balance, it happened slowly and she was patient with that,” Shirur had told The Indian Express earlier.

Avani had bagged the first Paralympcis quota for India during the Para World Cup in Paris in 2022 with a new world record score of 250.6 in the final. While she won a bronze in the Para Shooting World Cup in Delhi last year, where compatriot Mona Aggarwal won the gold, she had been hampered by the consistent pain.

Avani will be competing in the 10m air rifle mixed team prone SH 1 event and women’s 50m rifle 3P event at Paris too and can match Sodhi’s historic feat achieved in 1984.