Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates Avani Lekhara for winning Gold Medal at Paralympics

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Paralympian shooter Avani Lekhara on her Gold medal-winning victory in the Women’s 10m air rifle event. 

PM Modi Congratulates Avani Lekhara

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Avani Lekhara and congratulated her on winning gold in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. “Avani, many congratulations to you. You are constantly performing well and keep working hard,” PM Modi said on the call.

Avani replied, saying that she followed the advice rendered by the PM and did not crumble under the pressure of expectations. “This is my second Paralympics. I was a bit nervous. But you said that don’t play under the pressure of expectations and I followed it accordingly,” she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated Avani Lekhara over the phone for becoming the first Indian to claim successive Paralympic gold medals with a record-shattering top finish in the women's 10m air rifle (SH1) shooting competition. Modi said she is performing well and wished her luck for upcoming endeavours. During the telephone conversation, Lekhara said she kept calm and did not come under pressure as was told by the prime minister.

Lekhara became the first Indian to claim successive Paralympic gold medals with a record-shattering top finish in the women's 10m air rifle (SH1) shooting competition. Winner of the Tokyo Paralympics gold three years ago, Lekhara (22) shot a superb 249.7 to erase her own Paralympic record of 249.6 set in the Japanese capital three years back. Lekhara, who hails from Jaipur, endured a tough buildup to the Paralympics. She grappled with a host of health issues, including a gallbladder surgery, which forced her to take a recovery break of one and a half months. But the committed shooter, who is an assistant conservator of forest with the Rajasthan government, did not let health concerns distract her from her aim of Paralympic glory. 

(With inputs from PTI)