It gives me motivation and pleasure
“I look forward to representing our country with the same passion and winning more medals, said Avani Lekhara.
Avani Lekhara’s record-breaking Tokyo outing earned her the Sportswoman of the Year (Parasports) award at the Sportstar Aces Awards 2022.
Lekhara, who pipped paddler Bhavina Patel and shuttler Palak Kohli to the award, said, “It is a huge honour to be here and win this award. Receiving it in the august presence of so many inspiring athletes gives me motivation and pleasure.”
Lekhara, 20, was the first Indian woman to bag gold in the Tokyo Paralympics. What’s more, the undergraduate law student also took the top spot in the 10m event (SH1 category which is for athletes with lower limb impairment for rifle events) with a new Games record.
The Jaipur shooter also went on to clinch bronze in 50m rifle 3 positions, in the process also becoming the first Indian to win two medals in a single edition of the marquee multi-discipline event.
Lekhara, who received the trophy and a Casio G-shock wristwatch from India’s first individual Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, amid a standing ovation, said, “I thank the jury and my parents, coach Suma [Shirur] ma’am, the Government of India and Gosports Foundation. I look forward to representing our country with the same passion and winning more medals.”
Lekhara fell in love with the sport after reading Bindra’s autobiography and on March 19, she was overjoyed to meet her idol in person at the Aces Awards.
“The first time I met Bindra sir was in 2017 during an awards ceremony and now things have come a full circle for me as this is only the first time that I am meeting him after winning the Paralympics gold,” a beaming Lekhara said.