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Asian Para Games: Sheetal Devi creates history, wins 3 medals
Sheetal Devi created history by winning three medals in the ongoing Asian Para Games. The 16-year-old is the first female archer to compete without arms.
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The sport’s governing body, World Archery, claims that 16-year-old Sheetal Devi of Loidhar village in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir, is the “first female archer without arms to compete internationally.” She took home three medals from the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou this week.
Sheetal won two gold medals from the mixed doubles and women’s solo events to her silver in the women’s doubles compound. She defeated Singapore’s Alim Nur Syahidah in the women’s compound final of the Para Asian Games on Friday morning to earn gold.
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Ten, ten, ten! Perfect scores! Devi Sheetal shot six consecutive ten rings in the last two rounds at the final of Women's Ind. Compound and won her first individual gold medal of Asian Games.#Hangzhou #AsianParaGames #HangzhouAsianParaGames #4thAsianParaGames #Hangzhou2022APG… pic.twitter.com/CV40QHpAHm
— The 4th Asian Para Games Hangzhou Official (@19thAGofficial) October 27, 2023
Sheetal Devi: 16-year-old Asian Para Games medallist
For someone who had only begun training with a bow and arrow two years prior, Sheetal’s two victories at Hangzhou were a mixed team gold with Rakesh Kumar and a women’s team silver with Sarita.
Her journey from a schoolgirl to an Asian Para Games medallist began in 2021 when she signed up for a youth competition in Kishtwar, India, run by the Indian Army. The scouts were drawn to Sheetal because of her athleticism. They called the Major Akshay Girish Memorial Trust in Bengaluru, which got in touch with Being You, an online storytelling platform, to procure her a prosthetic limb.
— The 4th Asian Para Games Hangzhou Official (@19thAGofficial) October 27, 2023
Anurag Thakur on Sheetal Devi
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Thakur tweeted while praising the teenage sensation. Thakur said, “Heartfelt congratulations to the exceptionally talented 16-year-old Sheetal Devi for her outstanding win in the Women’s Individual Compound – Open event.”
A Golden Start to the Day in Archery for India!
Heartfelt congratulations to the exceptionally talented 16-year-old Sheetal Devi for her outstanding 🥇win in the Women's Individual Compound – Open event.
Our #TOPScheme para-archer has once again left us in awe with her… pic.twitter.com/aUsBDM5EHD
— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) October 27, 2023
Journey of making history
Sheetal claimed she was unaware of the potential benefits of the muscles she gained from climbing trees. The 16-year-old in an interview said, “Trees ki oochaaniyaan ko chooona chahiti thi, yahi cheez mujhe hamesha khush rakhti thi (I wanted to touch the heights of the trees, that was the only thing which made me happy).”
Sheetal created history by becoming the first female archer to compete without arms internationally. Kuldeep Vedwan and Abhilasha Chaudhary, the coaches, had never worked with an archer who was armless. But they had witnessed silver medallist Matt Stutzman from the 2012 London Paralympics shooting with his legs.
Amazing feat* feet! 🏹 🦶🏽
India’s sixteen-year-old armless archer Sheetal Devi won a silver medal at the Para Archery World Championships recently.
She fires the bow with her feet. The arrow is attached to her shoulder.#ParaArchery #Archery @worldarchery @ParalympicIndia pic.twitter.com/Nc8CWJXee7
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 7, 2023
When Sheetal’s power increased, she was able to shoot up to 300 arrows every day, from her initial 50–100. She took home a silver medal from the Para Open Nationals in Sonepat, six months later. In the Open Nationals, she also placed fourth against archers with able bodies.
Sheetal claimed that having witnessed her parents’ tireless efforts to support her and her two brothers, she was inspired to establish a reputation for herself. In the same interview, she further talked about how her parents are her inspiration. The Asian Games medallist said, “My father worked all day on the rice and vegetable farm, and my mother looked after three-four goats owned by our family. Whatever my father earns is spent on the family; we hardly have any savings.”
Sheetal also took home the silver medal from the World Para Archery Championships held in Pilsen, Czech Republic, earlier this year. Despite losing to Oznur Cure of Turkey in the final match, she made history as the first female armless archer to earn a medal at a global tournament.
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