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ET Women's Forum: Her rifle is an ode to her determination
Very few women say 'a rifle is an extension of who I am' and
Avani Lekhara
is one of them. A girl who picked up the rifle for the first time in 2015 as a teenager after a spinal cord injury in 2012 and went on to win two paralympic gold medals in Tokyo and Paris.
In a candid chat at
The Economic Times Women's Forum
, Lekhara said she felt that connection with the sport when she first started competing. She received her first gold medal in a regional shooting match at Kendriya Vidyalaya.
"Only after I started competing with other able-bodied athletes and para-athletes did I feel more connected to it. I felt like, okay, this is something that is really a part of me and that I want to continue," Lekhara said.
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At the 2024
Paralympic Games
in Paris, Lekhara won a gold in women's 10m air rifle and became the first Indian woman athlete to win three paralympic medals.
The Paris games were different from Tokyo for the then 23-year-old athlete. "I was the underdog in Tokyo. I came seventh in the qualifiers, and while going into the finals, I thought how could it be worse whether I am seventh or eighth." Only the top eight athletes get to compete in the finals.
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But the expectations of not only herself and her family, but the entire nation were on her when she went to compete in the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games. "There is pressure to maintain your position, and that takes a lot of courage," the champion said with the quiet confidence that comes only after one has achieved mastery in their space.
Now she is a 24-year-old law graduate but is insistent that she doesn't want to be glorified for her path despite her injury - "a person is putting in a lot of hard work to compete and win medals, not to have a glorified story", Avani said. She dreamed of being a judge in a wheelchair even before she dreamed of being an athlete, she said.
The aspiring judge wants everyone, especially persons with disabilities, to know not only their rights but also how to use their rights. She strives to include disabled persons in sports and society and provide accessibility in public spaces.
She appreciates the fact that young girls with disabilities can look up to her before starting a sport and that she can represent them. "It's the impact because when I was a little kid, I didn't have anyone to look up to," she said.
Winning the
Khel Ratna
and
Padma Shree
awards made her feel visible and connected to other athletes, especially para-athletes. "I feel that connection when people come and say that because of you, we started and didn't want to give up, it makes people feel more visible and more seen", and for Avani, that is the real success.
Before wheeling herself down the dais, Avani Lekhara, sitting tall in a wheelchair wearing a purple jumpsuit said, "Every person with disabilities should know how to use their rights and how to implement these rights in their lives to make it better."
