On November 1, 2025, Avani Lekhara bagged the gold medal in Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 at the 2025 Para Shooting World Cup in Al Ain, Dubai. The two-time Paralympic champion defeated Sweden’s Anna Benson in the final shot.
She made a strong comeback after the 23rd shot, where she was in second place but overtook the first spot in the final round with a shot of 10.5. Avani concluded the event with a score of 249.6, outscoring Anna’s 249.3 in a narrow victory, who took the silver medal. Thailand’s Wannipa Leungvilai was left with the bronze medal at the finals.
Meanwhile, in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event, India failed to claim a medal from their only qualified player, Ishank Ahuja, finishing at no. 6 in the finals.
Double Podium in Mixed 50m Pistol SH1
Earlier In the mixed 50m Pistol SH1 event, India secured a double podium finish with one gold and one silver in the individual event and another silver in the team event.
In the individual event it was Akash whose final score of 223.1 got him the gold medal, finishing ahead of his compatriot Sandeep Kumar (220.5), who settled for a silver.
Akash and Sandeep, along with Rudransh Khandelwal, also won the team silver with a combined total of 1588, behind Iran (1598).
Avani Lekhara Records and Achievements
- Born in 2001, Avani is an Indian Paralympic rifle shooter as well as an advocate for disability rights.
- In the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, she set a record of 249.6 in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event, equalling the world record at the time.
- At the 2022 Chateauroux Para Shooting World Cup, Lekhara made a world record with a score of 250.6 in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1.
- Again in the Paris 2024 Paralympics, she set a new record of 249.7 in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event, surpassing her previous record of 249.6 from the Tokyo Games.
- She is also the first Indian woman with two Paralympic gold medal wins.
- She is also the first Indian woman to win multiple medals at a single Paralympic Games. At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, she bagged the gold medal in the 10m air rifle standing and a bronze in the 50m rifle 3 positions.
Her World Cup medals include:
- Junior World Record in R2 at 2017 WSPS World Cup – silver medal
- 2017 WSPS World Cup – bronze medal
- 2019 WSPS World Cup in Osijek, Croatia – silver medal
- 2021 WSPS World Cup Al-Ain – silver medal
(Inputs sourced from The Bridge)
