Young Indian Archer Secures Third Medal in Gwangju
Gwangju
Eighteen-year-old Indian archer Sheetal Devi scripted history on Saturday by clinching the women’s compound individual gold medal at the World Para Archery Championships in Gwangju. She defeated world No.1 Oznur Cure Girdi of Turkiye 146-143 in a nail-biting final to secure her maiden world title.
What makes her feat extraordinary is that Sheetal is the only armless archer in the competition, shooting with her feet and chin. This gold medal marked her third podium finish at the championship. Earlier, she partnered with Toman Kumar to win a bronze in the compound mixed team event, edging past Great Britain’s Jodie Grinham and Nathan MacQueen 152-149. In the women’s compound team event, she and Sarita settled for silver after losing to Turkey.
In the tense individual final, Sheetal displayed remarkable composure. The opening and third ends were tied at 29-all, but she gained the advantage in the second end with a perfect 30. Despite a brief setback in the fourth end, she maintained a slim lead at 116-114. She sealed the title emphatically with a flawless final end, firing three consecutive 10s.
The win also served as revenge for her narrow loss to Girdi at the 2023 Pilsen World Championships, where the Turk had edged her 140-138. In the semifinal, Sheetal had brushed aside Britain’s Jodie Grinham 145-140 to book her place in the final. Hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, Sheetal’s meteoric rise at just 18 years of age has made her a symbol of resilience and determination in Indian sports.