Paris

Indian archers Rakesh Kumar and Sheetal Devi earned a bronze medal in the Mixed Team Compound event at the Paris Paralympics. They secured the third-place finish by narrowly defeating Italy’s Eleonora Sarti and Matteo Bonnacina with a final score of 156-155.

Earlier in the day, Kumar and Devi’s quest for gold ended in the semifinals when they were edged out by Iran’s Fatemeh Hemmati and Hadi Nori. The match was tightly contested, with the scores tied at 113-113 after three ends. In the shoot-off, Iran’s arrow landed closest to the center, denying the Indian pair a place in the final.

Despite their semifinal loss, Kumar and Devi rebounded to clinch bronze, adding to India’s medal tally. They had earlier advanced to the semifinals by defeating Indonesia’s Teodora Audi Ayudia Ferelly and Ken Swagumilang 154-143.

In addition, Sheetal Devi faced disappointment in the women’s individual compound open event, where she lost to Chile’s Zuniga Mariana by a narrow margin of 137-138. Devi had set a new world record in the qualification round with a score of 703 out of 720, showcasing her exceptional skill and previous success in the sport.