- Monday, April 29, 2024
Born in Jammu and Kashmir with phocomelia syndrome, a rare congenital disorder which kept limbs underdeveloped, Sheetal was adopted by the Indian Army in her childhood.
By: Shubham Ghosh
TEENAGE armless archer Sheetal Devi on Friday (27) became the first Indian woman to win two gold medals in a single edition of the Asian Para Games as the country’s record haul swelled to 99 on the penultimate day of competitions in Hangzhou, China.
India won 17 medals, including seven gold, with the shuttlers contributing the most number of medals — eight (with four gold) — on Friday. With one day left in the Hangzhou Asian Para Games, India were placed sixth in the standings with 25 gold, 29 silver and 45 bronze, below China (196 gold, 159 silver, 138 bronze), Japan (39, 44, 56), Iran (39, 39, 37), Korea (28, 30, 37) and Indonesia (26, 21, 32).
India is at fourth place in terms of total number of medals.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi tweeted wishing Sheetal Devi, saying her achievement is a testament to her grit and determination.
Proud of Sheetal Devi on her extraordinary Gold Medal in Archery Women's Individual Compound open event at the Asian Para Games. This achievement is a testament to her grit and determination. pic.twitter.com/4JtbxrmPY2
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 27, 2023
On Thursday (26), India had gone past the earlier highest Asian Para Games tally of 72 medals (15 gold, 24 silver, 33 bronze) achieved in the 2018 edition. The country is now certain to win 100 medals in the Hangzhou Asian Para Games which will be a remarkable milestone.
The para athletes are set to emulate their able-bodied counterparts who had won a record haul of 107 medals in the Hangzhou Asian Games held from September 23 to October 8.
Sheetal clinched the women’s individual compound gold on Friday to add to the yellow metal she won in the compound mixed team event on Thursday.
In fact, it is a hat-trick of medals for the 16-year-old from Jammu and Kashmir, who holds her bow with her foot. She had also won a silver in the women’s doubles compound event. Sheetal was born with phocomelia syndrome, a rare congenital disorder which kept limbs underdeveloped.
Discovered at a military camp in a remote part of Kishtwar and adopted by the Indian Army in her childhood, Sheetal, who became the first armless woman to win a Para World Archery Championships medal in July, defeated Singapore’s Alim Nur Syahidah 144-142 in the gold medal match.
Ankur Dhama had become the first Indian to win two gold medals in a single edition earlier this week. Another Indian archer, Rakesh Kumar defeated Iran’s Alisin Manshaezadeh in 144(10)-144(9) in a shoot-off to win the silver medal in men’s compound event. Reigning Paralympic champion shuttler Pramod Bhagat secured a gold medal in the single SL3 category as he outplayed compatriot Nitesh Kumar 22-20, 21-19 in the final.
“Firstly a huge congratulations to Nitesh Kumar, I think he played the game of his life, but unfortunately ended up with a silver. He is a brilliant player and pushes me till the edge which he did today,” said Bhagat.
“Somehow even when I was trailing, I had a belief that I would make a comeback and could win, the thought of losing never occurred to me. I focused on 1 point at a time and made it possible,” he added.
(With PTI inputs)
