Chateauroux 2022 World Cup: Lekhara clinches second gold

Young Paralympic champion Avani Lekhara continued her rich vein of form to clinch her second gold medal at the ongoing Chateauroux 2022 World Shooting Para Sport World Cup in France on Saturday.

Lekhara shot 458.3 in the R8 – Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1 finals to take the gold ahead of experienced Paralympic stars Veronica Vadovicova (456.6) of Slovakia and Sweden’s Anna Normann (441.9). Vadovicova and Normann took the silver and bronze respectively.

The promising shooter from Rajasthan made a slow start to the finals but quickly got back her rhythm to produce consistent shots, including over 10 scores in the last three rounds, to emerge the winner.

The 20-year-old Lekhara has already won the R2 – Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 gold with a world record effort on Day 1, and ensured India a quota for Paris 2024 Paralympics Games.

Another youngster to shine on the day was Rubina Francis, who claimed her second individual medal in consecutive days.

Francis settled for the bronze shooting 213.1 in the P2 – Women’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 finals, as Turkey’s Aysel Ozgan clinched the gold with a world record effort of 240.0. Ozgan’s fellow shooter from Turkey, Aysegul Pehlivanlar (236.7) claimed the silver medal.