Indian women shooter Avani Lakhara underwent an operation to remove gall bladder stones. Now she shows her real class and made a comeback in the arena after two months. When the Rajasthan shooter won the gold medal in the women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH 1 final at the Chateauroux Shooting Range, her father Praveen Kumar Lekhara was a relieved man.
This is the third medal of the shooter at the Paralympics. She had clutched gold and a bronze in Tokyo para Olympic 2020.
“Gallbladder stones had been troubling her since 2023. It also affected her training as the recurring pain around the stomach and waist would mean that she could not spend the usual hours at the shooting range.” His father told PTI.
At Tokyo she had established a milestone and created a achievement after becoming the only 2nd Indian player to win multiple medals in single edition of Paralympic . The last time an Indian won more medals that her at a single Paralympics was Joginder Singh Sodhi – three medals in the 1984 games.
“Avani competed in the New Delhi World Cup last year with consistent pain and it would hamper her progress too. Post the surgery this year, she was advised to rest for two months and when she restarted, weakened muscles was the main challenge” her coach Chandra Shekhar told media in an interview.
Her father also recall an incident when Avani met with an accident.The family were involved in a car accident on the Jaipur-Dholpur highway. Avani, 11-years-old back then, suffered spinal cord injuries and became paralyzed from waist below.