the Tokyo Paralympics last summer, as she became the first Indian female to win a Paralympic gold. The medal was for her victory in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 category, while she also won a bronze in the 50m rifle 3-positions SH1 competition. She has been paralysed from the waist down since the age of 10, following a car accident, and shooting gave her a renewed purpose for life. However, her journey wasn’t without obstacles. The absence of ramps at the shooting range, the lack of customised equipment were only a few of the many obstacles she faced. However, with the discipline of a monk and a focus of a hawk, you can see why she’s at the top, as she didn’t let her ambition waver.
“After my accident my world turned upside down. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone. What do you expect from a 10-year-old? I was an introvert before the accident and became more so,” she said, adding that shooting was the turning point for her. “It gave me a lot of self-confidence,” she noted. “[But] it’s not that one is happy all the time. You have to go in front of the mirror every day and say: ‘This is the body I am in, I am in love with this body. I am capable, I can do anything, I am deserving’.”
Lekhara is not the only female Para-athlete in India rewriting the history books. 19-year-old Palak Kohli was another teenager participated at the Tokyo Paralympics from the South Asian nation. She was the youngest Indian Para-badminton player at the international multi-sport event. Just like for Lekhara, Kohli’s journey has also been an arduous one. Born with an underdeveloped arm, in a small town in India, she had very little awareness about Para-sports growing up. However, in 2017, she picked up a badminton racquet for the first time and two years later she won her first international tournament.
“As a child I never thought of taking any sports. Everywhere I used to hear it’s not for me because of my disability,” she said. “But I decided to challenge myself. I transformed my disability into a super-ability and Para-badminton has changed my life.”
