Rajasthan leads India show in Tokyo, Jaipur girl Avani Lekhara strikes gold | Jaipur News

JAIPUR: It was an exhilarating day for India and Rajasthan on Monday at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 as the country bagged five medals, with athletes from the desert state claiming three of them, including a historic gold by 19-year-old shooter Avani Lekhara of Jaipur in the F-64 air rifle event.

Javelin thrower Sumit Antil won the other gold in F-46 category for the country with a world record throw of 68.55 metres, breaking the previous world records five times in the process.
Rajasthan veteran Devendra Jhajharia bagged the silver with a personal best of 64.35 metres in the javelin F-46 category, bringing home the third medal in three consecutive Paralympics. Having won two golds in previous editions, Jhajharia’s feat is unprecedented for an Indian athlete.
Sundar Singh Gurjar, who hails from Karauli district, won the bronze in the same F-46 javelin category, giving the state a third medal at the Tokyo event.
The second silver for the country was won by discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya in the F-56 category, taking India’s overall tally to seven medals in one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
Lekhara, who made a bold statement with a score of 249.6 in the final of the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH-1 event, became the first Indian woman to win a gold at Paralympics.