PM Modi congratulates Avani Lekhara on her gold medal win at Paris Paralympics

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated Avani Lekhara over the phone for becoming the first Indian to claim successive Paralympic gold medals with a record-shattering top finish in the women's 10m air rifle (SH1) shooting competition.

Modi said she is performing well and wished her luck for upcoming endeavours. During the telephone conversation, Lekhara said she kept calm and did not come under pressure as was told by the prime minister.

Lekhara became the first Indian to claim successive Paralympic gold medals with a record-shattering top finish in the women's 10m air rifle (SH1) shooting competition.

Winner of the Tokyo Paralympics gold three years ago, Lekhara (22) shot a superb 249.7 to erase her own Paralympic record of 249.6 set in the Japanese capital three years back.

Lekhara, who hails from Jaipur, endured a tough buildup to the Paralympics.

She grappled with a host of health issues, including a gallbladder surgery, which forced her to take a recovery break of one and a half months.

But the committed shooter, who is an assistant conservator of forest with the Rajasthan government, did not let health concerns distract her from her aim of Paralympic glory.