18-Year-Old Indian Archer Sheetal Becomes Para World Champion

Indian archer Sheetal Devi won the gold medal in the women's compound individual category at the Para World Archery Championship held on 27th September in Gwangju by defeating Turkey's world number one Oznur Kuru Gird 146-143. With this victory, she made history. Sheetal is the only archer without an arm in the competition, shooting using her feet and chin.

The 18-year-old Sheetal won her third medal in this championship. Earlier, she teamed up with Toman Kumar to win the mixed team bronze medal by defeating the Great Britain pair Graham and Nathan McQueen 152-149.

Silver Medal in Team Event

In the compound women's open team event, Sheetal and Sarita settled for the silver medal after losing to Turkey in the final. The individual final was a tough contest, but Sheetal performed consistently and maintained composure. The first round was tied 29-29, but in the second round, she gained an early lead by scoring three 10s and won 30-27.

The third round was also tied at 29-29. Sheetal made a small mistake in the fourth round by scoring 28 points while Girdy took a one-point lead, but Sheetal maintained a two-point lead of 116-114 overall. She sealed her first gold medal by scoring 30 points with three accurate shots in the final round.

Before this, in the semifinals, the archer from Jammu and Kashmir defeated the Great Britain pair Graham 145-140 to secure her place in the final.

Silver in Open Team Final

In the open team final, Sheetal and Sarita started strongly but lost 148-152, settling for the silver medal. The Indian duo began by defeating the Turkish pair Oznur Kuru Gird and Bursa Fatma Un 38-37 in the first round, scoring three 10s in their first four arrows, while Turkey managed only one 10.

The Turkish archers bounced back in the second round with three 10s and one 9, leveling the match 76-76. In the third round, the Indian pair scored only one 10, two 9s, and one 8, totaling 36 points. The Turkish pair scored 37 points with one 10 and three 9s, gaining a one-point lead.

Turkey's archers made almost no mistakes in the final moments, scoring 39 out of a possible 40 points. The Indian team scored 36 points with one arrow landing in the 7-ring, leading to Turkey claiming the gold medal with a four-point margin.