Paralympian Avani Lekhara doesn't want to look back

The 20-year-old sharp shooter is wise beyond her years

Avani Lekhara is brimming with positive affirmations. Through our interview, she wove sentences like “Never give up” and “When life hits you, you should hit even harder” into almost every response. While you and I might use such uplifting quotes in our bios on Instagram and share them on WhatsApp, Lekhara—who is significantly younger than I am—has already lived them.

On August 30th 2021, Lekhara became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in the women's 10-metre Air Rifle Standing (SH1) event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Games in Tokyo. Getting to this stage, however, hasn’t been easy. On February 20th 2012, the then 10-year-old met with an accident while travelling from Jaipur to Dholpur with her family—a car crash that damaged her spinal cord, leaving her paralysed below the waist. The next nine years were filled with profound lows and immense highs. The Padma Shri recipient, who is currently studying law, is now on a mission to achieve three things: win more medals (“I just want to make myself and my country proud”), become a judge (“There aren’t enough women judges, and probably no woman judge on a wheelchair”), and propel other people to live their best lives, even when it can seem like an uphill climb.

Last year, when you were just 19, you became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in the women's 10-metre Air Rifle Standing (SH1) event at the Paralympics Games in Tokyo. How did it feel at that moment, and how does it feel now?

I didn’t think it was such a big deal when it actually happened. I was just focusing on my process. Obviously I wanted to win a medal for my country, but there’s a fine line between thinking about it and overthinking about it. Your expectations can overcome your performance, so I was just doing my part. When I won, I was numb for five minutes—I couldn’t believe it had happened. All the other Indians and my team members were all shouting and cheering, so it felt really good. Now it has sunk in a little bit more. But it’s also something from last year—I have to focus on the present now. I won a medal, but now I have to work harder for my next match.

The toughest time of your life—your accident—probably gave you the best thing that happened for you—shooting. How do you reconcile your thoughts about this now?

Whatever happened, has happened. It happened in the past and you can’t change it, so what is the use of thinking about it again and again? You just have to move forward and make the best of your circumstances, and so you accept yourself and your body and mind the way it is. When the accident happened, I was home-bound for months and didn’t want to do anything. One minute I was fine, and by the next I couldn’t move. That was scary, but eventually I had to figure out what I was going to do next.

The time right after the accident was the lowest point in my life and nothing can come close to that feeling. After six months of staying in bed, I was learning how to sit, how to live a life in a wheelchair, and how to go back to school. I was starting from zero to live a new life. It took a lot of strength from within, but I learnt that time makes things better if you do everything you can do to get there. Had I given up then, I wouldn’t have gotten a medal for my country.

What motivates you when everything around you is challenging?

Shooting requires focus, and so I have learnt that you have to stay in the present and not let the past hold you back from experiencing better things that are yet to come. Plus, it doesn’t matter if someone else is doing better—your journey is your journey. The things you learn from failures, you cannot learn from the wins.

Everything you do and every step you take counts as progress. When I couldn’t win a medal at the Asian Para Games [in 2018], I was heartbroken. I told everyone around me that I wanted to quit, I wanted to stop shooting and it would be best to just give up. But I have a strong support system—my family, coaches and friends kept encouraging me. I [had] already lost, so there’s nothing downhill from there. You then have to think: what’s next?

You’re always telling women that it is important to celebrate your body the way it is and are also normalising disability, illness and differences. Your collaboration with Puma is along the same lines. What does it all mean for you?

It is so important to celebrate women and their hard work and achievements. It is important to normalise disability. Ten years ago I did not have any self-confidence or motivation, but now I know that I’m worthy. The notion of one-size-fits-all is a myth; everyone has their own individual challenges, struggles and talents.

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