"Special Moment For Indian Sports": PM Modi After Avani Lekhara Wins Paralympic Gold
Tokyo Paralympics: Reactions poured in for para shooter Avani Lekhara who became the first Indian woman to win a gold at the Paralympic Games.
Highlights
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Shooter Avani Lekhara became 1st Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold
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Congratulatory messages poured in for Lekhara after her historic feat
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PM Modi and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur among others posted wishes
Shooter Avani Lekhara became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympics when she clinched the top spot with a world record-equalling score of 249.6 at the Tokyo Paralympics on Monday. Lekhara also set a new Paralympic record as the 19-year-old became the fourth Indian athlete to win a Paralympics gold after swimmer Murlikant Petkar (1972), javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia (2004 and 2016) and high jumper Thangavelu Mariyappan (2016). Wishes and tributes poured in for Lekhara with Prime Minister Narendra Modi among the first to congratulate the Indian shooter.
"Phenomenal performance @AvaniLekhara! Congratulations on winning a hard-earned and well-deserved Gold, made possible due to your industrious nature and passion towards shooting. This is truly a special moment for Indian sports. Best wishes for your future endeavours," tweeted PM Modi.
Phenomenal performance @AvaniLekhara! Congratulations on winning a hard-earned and well-deserved Gold, made possible due to your industrious nature and passion towards shooting. This is truly a special moment for Indian sports. Best wishes for your future endeavours.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 30, 2021
President Ram Nath Kovind congratulated Lekhara for "creating history".
Another daughter of India makes us proud!
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 30, 2021
Congratulations to Avani Lekhara for creating history and becoming the first Indian woman to win a Gold at #Paralympics. India is elated by your stellar performance! Our tricolour flies high at the podium due to your phenomenal feat.
Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Tokyo 2020 for India handles on Twitter also posted wishes for Lekhara.
It's for
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) August 30, 2021
Avani wins in her debut #Paralympics
What an amazing performance by @AvaniLekhara as she wins 's 1st in Para Shooting in 10m AR Standing SH1 Final with a score of 249.6 creating Paralympic Record & equalling the World Record!!!#Cheer4India #Praise4Para pic.twitter.com/Gf4S3T6V8t
This is an @AvaniLekhara appreciation post #IND's first woman to win a #Paralympics #gold at just 19 years of age, equalling a WORLD RECORD on her debut - Wow! #Tokyo2020 #ShootingParaSport pic.twitter.com/WAiKy3OCuR
— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) August 30, 2021
Sports Minister Anurag Thakur called it a "historic achievement".
Amazing Avani wins for !
— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) August 30, 2021
A historic achievement as she becomes the only woman in Olympics & Paralympics to win a gold !
Shooting in 10m AR Standing SH1 Final
Score of 249.6 creating a Paralympic Record
Equalling the World Record#Praise4Para @AvaniLekhara pic.twitter.com/Md7pfLX8t2
Former Paralympian Deepa Malik posted a video to congratulate Lekhara.
It's a Gold! Heartiest congratulations to @Avanilekhara for winning India's first medal in #ParaShooting. The young shooter kept her calm & won the medal by equalling World record.@narendramodi @ianuragthakur@Media_SAI @Paralympics @ShootingPara #Praise4Para #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/h6JqIXehsv
— Deepa Malik (@DeepaAthlete) August 30, 2021
Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals also tweeted.
It's a gooooood morning. #Paralympics
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) August 30, 2021
Lekhara's gold was followed by two silver medals and a bronze as Yogesh Kathuniya won silver in men's discus throw (F56) and Devendra Jhajharia and Sundar Singh Gurjar won silver and bronze respectively in men's javelin (F46) event at the Paralympics on Monday.