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Eighteen-year-old Indian archer Sheetal Devi created history on Saturday by winning the women’s compound individual gold at the Para World Archery Championships. Facing Turkiye’s world No. 1 Oznur Cure Girdi in a tense final, Sheetal prevailed 146-143 to script one of the biggest victories of her young career. What makes her feat even more remarkable is that Sheetal, born without arms, shoots entirely with her feet and chin — making her the only armless archer in the competition. This was her third medal of the championships, cementing her place as one of the most inspiring athletes on the global stage. The Road to Gold The opening ended tied at 29-all, but Sheetal showed her class in the second, firing three perfect 10s to take it 30-27. The third end again finished level at 29-29, keeping her two points clear. Her only slip came in the fourth end, where she managed 28 as Girdi clawed back a point, narrowing the lead to 116-114. But with the pressure at its peak, Sheetal delivered a flawless final end, hitting three perfect arrows to seal her maiden individual world championship gold. Earlier, she had defeated Great Britain’s Jodie Grinham 145-140 in the semifinals to set up a rematch of the 2023 Pilsen World Championships final, where Girdi had narrowly edged her 140-138. This time, Sheetal turned the tables. Other Medal Wins Sheetal had already bagged a bronze in the mixed team compound event alongside Toman Kumar, beating Britain’s Jodie Grinham and Nathan MacQueen 152-149. In the open team final, she partnered with Sarita Devi to win silver after going down 148-152 to the Turkish duo of Girdi and Bursa Fatma Un. The Indians began strongly, edging the first end 38-37 with three 10s. But Turkey responded swiftly in the second end to level scores, before edging ahead in the third. In the decisive final end, Girdi and Un were nearly flawless with 39 points, while India faltered with 36 — including one costly arrow in the 7-ring — settling for silver. (with agency inputs)
