Avani Lekhara is a world-class para shooter as of 24 years old. Lekhara has had a two-time Paralympic gold medal to her name and a three-time Paralympic medallist medal to her name. She started off as a hobby and has become a Paralympic medalist.
Lekhara’s approach to the sport is different from the popular view of competing directly against an opponent. Shooting is largely a lonely sport, of which the most difficult thing is what she was doing before. She is not comparing herself to competitors but to herself.
Her sporting journey began after a big change in her life. In 2012, when Lekhara was 11 years old, a car accident in Jaipur left her in a wheelchair. Sport was not in her mind at the time. Her parents were in rehab and helping her go on with everyday life.
That changed in 2015 when her father took her to a shooting range during a summer vacation. What started as a hobby— Lekhara went out to the range once or twice a week— turned into something more serious and with it the competition. As her scores improved so did her interest in competition.
Lekhara eventually realized that shooting was no longer just a fun sport; the competitive nature of the sport appealed to her and she started to see it professionally.
Her father also inspired her through Abhinav Bindra’s autobiography. The lesson that stayed with Lekhara was the need to work hard and not just wait for a perfect day. That philosophy has been at the core of her career as she continues to work on daily improvement.
Building A Career In A Developing Para-Sport System
When Lekhara began competing, India's para shooting infrastructure was still developing. Accessible facilities were limited and athletes often had to overcome challenges that went beyond training and competition.
Shooting ranges did not always have wheelchair-friendly facilities, and specialised equipment required for para athletes was difficult to obtain. Lekhara had to make adjustments to her shooting environment, including installing ramps at her range.
Para shooting requires changing equipment, position, and technique according to the athlete’s classification. Specialised rifles and other equipment had to be imported, and there were very few coaches with experience working with athletes who competed from a seated position.
The financial costs were another big challenge. Lekhara's first rifle cost about Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh and her wheelchair more than Rs 4 lakh. Her family initially bore much of the financial burden before she received support from organisations like Olympic Gold Quest and the government's Target Olympic Podium Scheme.
Her experience has also shaped her thoughts on the future of Indian para sport. Lekhara has stressed the need for financial and infrastructure resources at the grassroots level for the training and international competitions of more athletes.
Tokyo 2020: A Special Paralympic Debut.
Lekhara made her Paralympic debut at Tokyo 2020 and immediately made history. She won gold in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event, becoming India’s first Paralympic gold medallist in the process. She also won bronze in the 50m rifle three positions SH1 event.
Her Tokyo campaign established her as a major figure in Indian para sport. However, Lekhara has said she had not quite grasped the magnitude of what she was doing in Tokyo at the time. And even then the impact of her victory became more visible after she went back to India and saw how much attention she got.
The gold medal also changed expectations about her career. She wasn’t just a promising young shooter anymore; she had won Paralympic gold medals and more attention was now paying to every subsequent competition.
Paris 2024: Defending Her Paralympic Title.
Paris 2024 was different because Lekhara entered the Games as the defending champion. The pressure of trying to retain a title was much different from the challenge of competing at her first Paralympics.
During the 10m air rifle standing SH1 final, Lekhara found herself down in the bronze medal position with one shot remaining. Rather than calculating what score she needed or the medal positions, she concentrated on executing her final shot.
She produced a 10.5 to retain the Paralympic title and improve on her previous Paralympic record. The result gave Lekhara back-to-back gold medals in the event and further established her consistency on the biggest stage.
The Paris win showed her mental approach to shooting, too. She felt the pressure of defending a title and chose to concentrate on the process rather than the final outcome.
Returning To The World Championships
Lekhara returned to the World Shooting Para Sport Championships in Changwon, South Korea, in September 2026. This was a big deal as it marked her return to the Worlds after four years. World Shooting Para Sport identified her as one of the leading rifle athletes going into the competition.
At the Changwon championships, Lekhara participated in the R2 women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 event. She finished behind Serbia’s Kristina Trifunovic and Indian shooter Mona Agarwal, taking bronze. Agarwal won silver and Trifunovic gold.
The Changwon championships were also part of the qualification route for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games with quota places available for several events. World Shooting Para Sport says the championships awarded 24 LA28 quota places across men's and women's events.
For Lekhara, it was another international medal to enhance a career that featured two Paralympic titles already. It also showed the depth of India's para shooting program, with several Indian shooters now competing at the highest level.
Asian Para Games And The Road Ahead.
The next major challenge on Lekhara's calendar is the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games in Japan. The event will take place from 16 October to 24 October and is also part of the qualification pathway for the LA28 Paralympic Games.
Lekhara has said she still has a long way to go. She has not seen her world records or Paralympic wins as a reason to stop improving.
From a distance away from shooting, she is pursuing an LLM and is a second-year student. She enjoys hanging out with friends and watching horror and science-fiction thrillers. Music and time alone before competitions are part of her mental preparation.
Lekhara has also expressed her desire to give back to sport in the future. Coaching, setting up an academy, or helping people with disabilities and women in sport are some of the things she could do in addition to her own competitive career.
Her journey from rehabilitation after an accident to becoming a two-time Paralympic champion has already become a focal point of Indian sport. But Lekhara keeps measuring herself against her own previous performances. For her, the medals and records are milestones rather than a finish line, and the next target is to shoot better than she did before.
