Eighteen-year-old Indian archer Sheetal Devi made history on Saturday by winning the women’s compound individual gold at the Para World Archery Championships. In a tense final against Turkiye’s world No. 1 Oznur Cure Girdi, Sheetal won 146-143, marking one of the biggest victories of her young career.
Her achievement is even more remarkable since she was born without arms and shoots completely with her feet and chin; she is the only armless archer in the competition. This win was her third medal at the championships, securing her status as one of the most inspiring athletes in the world.
The Path to Gold
The first round ended tied at 29-29, but Sheetal showed her skill in the second round by shooting three perfect 10s to take it 30-27. The third round also finished tied at 29-29, maintaining her two-point lead. Her only mistake came in the fourth round, where she scored 28 while Girdi gained a point, narrowing the score to 116-114. However, with the pressure mounting, Sheetal finished strong in the final round, hitting three perfect arrows to clinch her first individual world championship gold.
Earlier, she defeated Great Britain’s Jodie Grinham 145-140 in the semifinals, setting up a rematch with Girdi. In the 2023 Pilsen World Championships final, Girdi narrowly beat her 140-138, but this time, Sheetal reversed the outcome.
Other Medal Wins
Sheetal Devi had earned a bronze in the mixed team compound event alongside Toman Kumar, winning against Jodie Grinham and Nathan MacQueen from Britain with a score of 152-149. In the open team final, she teamed up with Sarita Devi to win silver after losing 148-152 to the Turkish team of Girdi and Bursa Fatma Un.
India started strong, taking the first round 38-37 with three 10s. However, Turkey quickly responded in the second round to tie the score and then took the lead in the third. In the crucial final round, Girdi and Un scored nearly perfectly with 39 points, while India fell short at 36, which included one costly arrow in the 7-ring. This left them with the silver medal.
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