Jaipur: Avani Lekhara, who won gold and bronze medals at the Tokyo Paralympics last year, has been asked to pay for herself, as per Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) rules, at the upcoming Para Shooting World Championship where she is denied participation at two events.
The PCI has stated that Lekhara has qualified for two events -- R2 and R8 -- and therefore she wouldn't be able to take part in the other two (R3 and R6) in the championship that has a total of four events. Lekhara has earlier participated in R2, R3, R6 and R8 events of 10m and 50m range, which usually is the case but she couldn't qualify for two events this time around following which she is not being cleared by the PCI to participate in all of the events.
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Meanwhile, Lekhara's father had requested the committee to allow her to take part in the other two events following which they said that Rs 3 lakh and 7 thousand will has to be paid if she is allowed in those events and the para-athlete will not be allowed to take her personal coach with her. The sum will include her entire stay in the UAE, including hotel tariff among other expenses.
What does the rule say?
According to PCI rules, if an athlete qualifies for one event, he/she has automatically qualified for the tournament. If the player belongs to an elite group, he/she will get 3 advantage points. In the R3 event, the criterion at the World Championship is 633.2 points while Lekhara has 631.8 points.
Her father has reasoned that if Lekhara is allowed to have advantage points, she will easily be able to qualify for the R3 and R6 events. Rajasthan sports minister Ashok Chandna condemned the incident saying that a player like Avani, who has brought laurels to her country, has been denied participation at the World Championships. He further added that an investigation will be done in the matter.
