Avani Lekhara at the Asian Para Games 2026
Avani Lekhara is part of India’s 121-member squad for the 2026 Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from 18 to 24 October. She is entered in the R2 women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 and the R8 women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1. She is the defending champion in the R2 event, which she won at the last Asian Para Games in Hangzhou with a score of 249.6, a Games record.
This profile will be updated with her results during the Games.
Paralympic champion twice
At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, Lekhara won gold in the R2 women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1, becoming the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold medal. She also won bronze in the R8 50m rifle 3 positions SH1.
At Paris 2024 she defended her R2 title with a Paralympic record score of 249.7, finishing ahead of South Korea’s Lee Yunri (246.8) and her teammate Mona Agarwal, who took bronze. It was India’s first gold of the Paris Paralympics and made Lekhara the first Indian woman with two Paralympic golds. She also reached the R8 final in Paris and finished fifth.
Avani Lekhara’s career highlights
- 2017, World Shooting Para Sport World Cup, Bangkok: bronze, her first international medal
- 2021, Tokyo Paralympics: gold, R2 10m air rifle standing SH1; bronze, R8 50m rifle 3 positions SH1
- 2023, Asian Para Games, Hangzhou: gold, R2 10m air rifle standing SH1, Games record 249.6
- 2024, Paris Paralympics: gold, R2 10m air rifle standing SH1, Paralympic record 249.7; fifth, R8 50m rifle 3 positions SH1
- 2025, WSPS World Cup, Al Ain: gold, R2 10m air rifle standing SH1 (249.6); silver, R8 50m rifle 3 positions SH1; silver, mixed team 10m air rifle SH1
From an accident to the podium
Lekhara was born on 8 November 2001 and grew up in Jaipur, Rajasthan. A car accident in 2012, when she was 11, left her paralysed below the waist. In 2015, with encouragement from her father Praveen Lekhara, she took up shooting at the Jagatpura Shooting Range in Jaipur, where she trained under coach Chandra Shekhar. Former Olympic shooter Suma Shirur later became her mentor.
She has received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna (2021) and the Padma Shri (2022).
For India’s results at the Asian Games earlier this month, see India at Asian Games 2026.
Updated 9 October 2026. Sources: International Paralympic Committee, IPC Paris 2024 report, The Bridge, Business Today, The Logical Indian, Sportskeeda and Wikipedia.
