Paralympics gold medalist Avani Lekhara thanks Anand Mahindra for customised XUV car

The Tokyo Paralympics concluded on September 5, 2021, with some epic performances of athletes from all around the world. For Team India, the Tokyo Paralympics turned out to be historic as its athletes won 19 medals, including five gold that helped them sign off 24th in the overall tally - the highest ever. Among those was 19-year-old shooter Avani Lekhara who won a gold and bronze medal in the mega-sporting event. After the Paralympics concluded, Business tycoon Anand Mahindra has promised to get a specialised XUV700 made for her. The customised car was recently presented to Avani Lekhara for her outstanding performance.

Avani took to Twitter to thank Anand Mahindra for this gesture and called it a 'big step' towards India being more inclusive. She also added that she looks forward to seeing more cars like this on the road in India. Earlier Anand Mahindra had written: "Good job Team! Thank you Avani Lekhara for honouring the XUV7OO by making it your chariot!".

India's outstanding performance at Tokyo Paralympics 2021

The Indian contingent had an outstanding outing at the Tokyo Paralympics as they won 19 medals (five gold, eight silver, six bronze) in total. Avani Lekhara opened Team India's gold medal account on August 30, the same day Sumit Antil also won a gold medal. It was not the easiest of wins for Lekhara, who had just scraped through the qualifiers. However, the day of the final, when it mattered most, she seemed unassailable. The Indian shooter began the final with scores of 52.0, 51.3, and 21.6 in the first three shots. She then ended the event with scores of 21.2, 20.1, and 20.5 to win the country's first gold medal at the Paralympics. 

Avani also was India's flagbearer for the closing ceremony after her stunning performances in the Paralympics. PCI President Deepa Malik took to her Twitter handle and shared a video of Avani Lekhara leading Team India's contingent as the flag-bearer in the Tokyo Paralympics closing ceremony. Deepa Malik also shared that Avani Lekhara became the first Indian woman who marched with the Tricolour at the prestigious Paralympics ever.

Image: PTI/ @AvaniLekhara/ Twitter