Latest news with #AvaniLekhara


Time of India
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Agencies keep creative spark alive at Cannes
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Indian agencies won two Silver Lions and one Bronze on Day 2 of Cannes Festival of Creativity on Tuesday, adding to their rich haul of nine Lions, including two Gold Lions, on Day creative agency Talented won Silver in the Entertainment Lions for Sports category for 'Avani's Gold' - a tribute to Paralympic champion Avani Lekhara, created for Britannia Marie Gold. "A year ago in Paris, Avani scripted history, and today, her story is being celebrated a few miles away in Cannes." said Gautam Reghunath, cofounder and CEO of had on Monday earned a Silver in Outdoor for 'Nature Shapes Britannia' campaign for the biscuits India won a Bronze in the Design category for its 'Eye Test Menu' campaign for Titan Company , taking its total to three metals. On Monday, it picked up Bronze Lions for 'Guardian Beads' for Vodafone Idea and 'Chai Bansuri' for Brooke Bond Taj Mahal."It gladdens us to see the wins spread across brands and Ogilvy offices. This means all our teams are firing," Sukesh Nayak, Harshad Rajadhyaksha and Kainaz Karmakar, chief creative officers at Ogilvy India, said in a joint the Entertainment Lions for Music category, VML India won a Silver Lion for Coke Studio Bharat's 'The Girl Who Played the Tutari', a campaign that spotlighted Nilaksha Borade, the first woman to publicly play the tutari - a centuries-old Maharashtrian horn traditionally played by men."This campaign breaks an 800-year-old tradition through music, spotlighting women instrumentalists and shattering stereotypes," said Kalpesh Patankar, group CCO of VML Tuesday, India also saw 16 new shortlists across categories such as Creative Commerce, and Creative Effectiveness, Creative Business Transformation and Film, taking the total to 83 shortlists across 2 of Cannes Lions 2025 featured several prominent speakers, including Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer of P&G, tennis ace Serena Williams, and Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft Pritchard spoke on timeless creativity and building brands, Williams was part of a high-impact panel that discussed how investing in 'impact innovators' could enable building a cleaner, healthier world. She shared snippets from her own investment and Colleen DeCourcy, ex-CCO at Snap, discussed 'agentic AI' and its implications for our digital lives and digital industries.


Time of India
16-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Charting a Path for Women of the Future
From 'putting one foot in front of the other' on the unforgiving trail to the summit of Mount Everest to shooting many a bull's eye at the Paralympic Games , achieving financial independence, reimagining careers—all this and more was showcased at The Economic Times Women's Forum last Thursday. The spotlight fell on a social sector champion and a political leader who broke the mould, as well as some of India's best-known entrepreneurs and investors. India's Femme Force was on full glorious display. The forum, in its fourth year, featured 23 prominent speakers, including former cabinet minister Smriti Irani , who emphasised the need to celebrate women from all walks of life, including grassroot workers. 'There are many women who are busy leading their lives,' she said. 'They are successful, but don't have the time or wherewithal to shout from the rooftops how great they are. When you see such women, talk about them and celebrate them.' Other speakers included paralympian Avani Lekhara , actors Shraddha Kapoor and Rasika Dugal and Moelis India's Manisha Girotra.


Time of India
15-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
ET Women's Forum: From sports & films to politics, champions talk about work & life
Mumbai: From 'putting one foot in front of the other' on the unforgiving trail to the summit of Mount Everest to shooting many a bull's eye at the Paralympic Games , achieving financial independence, reimagining careers—all this and more was showcased at The Economic Times Women's Forum last Thursday. The spotlight fell on a social sector champion and a political leader who broke the mould, as well as some of India's best-known entrepreneurs and investors. India's Femme Force was on full glorious display. The forum, in its fourth year, featured 23 prominent speakers, including former cabinet minister Smriti Irani , who emphasised the need to celebrate women from all walks of life, including grassroot workers. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like These Groundbreaking Insoles Combat Foot Pain hatmeo Learn More Undo 'There are many women who are busy leading their lives,' she said. 'They are successful, but don't have the time or wherewithal to shout from the rooftops how great they are. When you see such women, talk about them and celebrate them.' Other speakers included paralympian Avani Lekhara , actors Shraddha Kapoor and Rasika Dugal and Moelis India's Manisha Girotra. Live Events


Time of India
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
ET Women's Forum: Her rifle is an ode to her determination
Very few women say 'a rifle is an extension of who I am' and Avani Lekhara is one of them. A girl who picked up the rifle for the first time in 2015 as a teenager after a spinal cord injury in 2012 and went on to win two paralympic gold medals in Tokyo and Paris. In a candid chat at The Economic Times Women's Forum , Lekhara said she felt that connection with the sport when she first started competing. She received her first gold medal in a regional shooting match at Kendriya Vidyalaya. "Only after I started competing with other able-bodied athletes and para-athletes did I feel more connected to it. I felt like, okay, this is something that is really a part of me and that I want to continue," Lekhara said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Handmade Painted 3D Book Mug Designed By A Famous Engineer is Sweeping New York SOLYMALL Shop Now Undo At the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, Lekhara won a gold in women's 10m air rifle and became the first Indian woman athlete to win three paralympic medals. The Paris games were different from Tokyo for the then 23-year-old athlete. "I was the underdog in Tokyo. I came seventh in the qualifiers, and while going into the finals, I thought how could it be worse whether I am seventh or eighth." Only the top eight athletes get to compete in the finals. Live Events But the expectations of not only herself and her family, but the entire nation were on her when she went to compete in the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games. "There is pressure to maintain your position, and that takes a lot of courage," the champion said with the quiet confidence that comes only after one has achieved mastery in their space. Now she is a 24-year-old law graduate but is insistent that she doesn't want to be glorified for her path despite her injury - "a person is putting in a lot of hard work to compete and win medals, not to have a glorified story", Avani said. She dreamed of being a judge in a wheelchair even before she dreamed of being an athlete, she said. The aspiring judge wants everyone, especially persons with disabilities, to know not only their rights but also how to use their rights. She strives to include disabled persons in sports and society and provide accessibility in public spaces. She appreciates the fact that young girls with disabilities can look up to her before starting a sport and that she can represent them. "It's the impact because when I was a little kid, I didn't have anyone to look up to," she said. Winning the Khel Ratna and Padma Shree awards made her feel visible and connected to other athletes, especially para-athletes. "I feel that connection when people come and say that because of you, we started and didn't want to give up, it makes people feel more visible and more seen", and for Avani, that is the real success. Before wheeling herself down the dais, Avani Lekhara, sitting tall in a wheelchair wearing a purple jumpsuit said, "Every person with disabilities should know how to use their rights and how to implement these rights in their lives to make it better."


Time of India
12-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Celebrating Women Who Are Game-changers
The fourth edition of The Economic Times Women's Forum celebrates rising women power, as trailblazers and champions from various fields come together to discuss the theme, Women at the Forefront of Change , in Mumbai today. Speakers will include former cabinet minister Smriti Irani, two-time paralympic gold medallist Avani Lekhara, Wockhardt Hospitals' Zahabiya Khorakiwala, Moelis India's Manisha Girotra, actor Rasika Dugal and finfluencer Rachana Ranade.