Avani Lekhara became the first Indian woman to win two Paralympics medals at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020. Which one of the following was her discipline?
- (a)Badminton
- (b)Shooting
- (c)Table Tennis
- (d)Archery
Correct — B, Shooting. Avani Lekhara is a para rifle shooter in the SH1 classification, and at the Tokyo Paralympic Games she won two medals in that sport — gold in the women's 10 metre air rifle standing SH1, set with a Paralympic record of 249.6 in the final, and bronze in the 50 metre rifle three positions SH1. The gold was the first ever won by an Indian woman at the Paralympic Games, and the pair of medals at a single Games is what the stem is referring to. She comes from Jaipur in Rajasthan and took up shooting after a road accident in 2012 left her paraplegic; the recognition that followed included the Khel Ratna in 2021 and the Padma Shri in 2022. Since this paper was set she has gone further still, defending the 10 metre air rifle standing SH1 title at the Paris Paralympic Games in 2024.
- (a)Badminton — Para badminton did make its Paralympic debut at these Games and India won medals in it, but none of them was Avani Lekhara's — she was on the shooting range.
- (c)Table Tennis — The commonest wrong answer, because India did win a table tennis medal at Tokyo — Bhavina Patel's silver. Two Indian women winning at the same Games in different sports is exactly the confusion this option exploits.
- (d)Archery — Archery and shooting get mixed up constantly because both are precision target sports contested in classified events. Lekhara's discipline is the rifle, not the bow.
Para shooting is contested in SH1 and SH2 classes. SH1 is for athletes who can support the weight of the firearm themselves, competing seated or standing depending on the event; SH2 is for those who need a shooting stand to bear the rifle. The events mirror able-bodied shooting — 10 metre air rifle and air pistol, and the 50 metre rifle in three positions — with the classification rather than the target distinguishing them.
This is a name-to-sport item, and the honest way to prepare for it is to hold the medal table by athlete rather than by count. Tokyo was India's most successful Paralympic Games to that point, and the names attached to those medals — in shooting, badminton, athletics, table tennis and archery — have been asked about repeatedly since. Two details are worth carrying: Lekhara's gold was the first won by an Indian woman at the Paralympics, and her two medals came in two different rifle events, not in two sports. That second point is what the stem's phrase 'two Paralympics medals' is testing.
- Avani Lekhara competes in para rifle shooting in the SH1 class, in the 10 metre air rifle standing and the 50 metre rifle three positions.
- At the Tokyo Paralympic Games she won gold in the 10 metre air rifle standing SH1 with a Paralympic record of 249.6 in the final, and bronze in the 50 metre rifle three positions SH1.
- She was the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold medal.
- She is from Jaipur, Rajasthan, and was left paraplegic by a road accident in 2012.
- She received the Khel Ratna in 2021 and the Padma Shri in 2022, and defended her 10 metre air rifle standing SH1 title at the Paris Paralympic Games in 2024.
- Attaching Bhavina Patel's table tennis silver to Lekhara, or the reverse.
- Reading 'two Paralympics medals' as two Games rather than two events at the same Games.
- Confusing shooting with archery, where India also won at Tokyo.
As a name-to-sport item, or as a match between Indian medallists and their events at a named Games.
Avani Lekhara excels in which one of the following sports?
- (a) Table Tennis
- (b) Cycling
- (c) Shooting
- (d) Boxing
Answer(c) Shooting
The same athlete asked again a year later, and with the discipline still the point of the question. The recurrence is the lesson — once a name enters the paper's stock of Indian medallists, it comes back, so learn the sport with the name.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Avani Lekhara's Paralympic gold medal at the Tokyo Games came in which event?
- (a)50 metre rifle three positions SH1
- (b)10 metre air pistol SH1
- (c)10 metre air rifle standing SH1
- (d)Mixed 50 metre rifle prone SH2
Answer(c) 10 metre air rifle standing SH1 — she set a Paralympic record of 249.6 in that final; her second Tokyo medal, a bronze, came in the 50 metre rifle three positions SH1.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In para shooting, the SH2 classification is distinguished from SH1 by the fact that SH2 athletes
- (a)compete only at 50 metres
- (b)require a shooting stand to support the firearm
- (c)shoot only with a pistol
- (d)compete only in mixed events
Answer(b) require a shooting stand to support the firearm — SH1 athletes are able to bear the weight of the firearm themselves.