Paralympic champion Avani Lekhara continued her rich vein of form to clinch her second gold at the ongoing Para Shooting World Cup in in Chateauroux, France.
Avani shot 458.3 in the Women’s 50m Rifle Three Positions SH1 to take the gold ahead of experienced Paralympic stars Veronica Vadovicova (456.6) of Slovakia and Sweden’s Anna Normann (441.9) who setlled for the silver and bronze respectively.
Avani said that she couldn’t be happier. “Very emotional as I bring home the 2nd Gold Medal of this #WorldCup in the 50M 3P event with a score of 458.3. CouldnÔÇÖt be happier!” she tweeted.
Very emotional as I bring home the 2nd Gold Medal of this #WorldCup in the 50M 3P event with a score of 458.3. CouldnÔÇÖt be happier! ƒç«ƒç│ @narendramodi @ianuragthakur @ParalympicIndia @IndiaSports @Media_SAI @KirenRijiju @Paralympics @PTI_News https://t.co/MskVdyqShG
— Avani Lekhara ÓñàÓñÁÓñ¿ÓÑÇ Óñ▓ÓÑçÓñûÓñ░Óñ¥ PLY (@AvaniLekhara) June 11, 2022
It is important to mention that the world record in this event belongs to Vadovicova, who was defeated by Avani today. The Slovakian star had set the mark at 459.4 back in 2017 at Al Ain.
The 20-year-old Avani made a slow start to the finals but quickly got back her rhythm to produce consistent shots, including over 10 scores in the last three rounds, to emerge the winner.
Avani has already won the Women’s 10m Air Rifle SH1 gold with a world record effort on the opening day of the competition, and ensured India a quota for Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Another youngster to shine on the day was Rubina Francis, who claimed her second individual medal in consecutive days. Rubina settled for the bronze shooting 213.1 in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol SH1, as Turkey’s Aysel Ozgan clinched the gold with a World Record effort of 240.0. Ozgan’s fellow shooter from Turkey, Aysegul Pehlivanlar (236.7) claimed the silver.