The Indian archery duo of Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar delivered a remarkable comeback to secure a bronze medal in the mixed team compound archery competition at the Paralympics, defeating Italy’s Eleonora Sarti and Matteo Bonacina with a narrow 156-155 victory. This achievement marks only the second time India has won a medal in archery at the Paralympics, with Harvinder Singh claiming the first in the individual event at the Tokyo Games three years ago. Sheetal also made history as the first Indian woman to win an archery medal at the Paralympics, a moment celebrated by coach Kuldeep Vedhwan.
The victory was clinched when 17-year-old Sheetal’s final shot in the last end was upgraded from a 9 to a 10 after a review, tipping the balance in India’s favor. This fortunate outcome mirrored a similar situation in the semifinals against Iran, though in that instance, the Indians had been on the losing side.
During the final end of the match, the Indian team shot an impressive sequence of 10, 9, 10, 10, bringing their total to 155. The Italian pair matched this score, shooting 9, 9, 10, 10, leading to a tie. However, the judge’s close inspection of Sheetal’s shot confirmed it as a 10, securing the win for India.
The Indians had faced a tough semifinal against Iran’s Fatemeh Hemmati and Hadi Nori, where they narrowly missed out on the final after a dramatic shoot-off. Despite their strong performance, including a tied score of 152-152, a score revision by the judge allowed the Iranians to push the match into a shoot-off, where they ultimately triumphed.
Earlier in the quarterfinals, Sheetal and Rakesh had shown great synergy, overcoming Indonesia’s Teodora Audi Ayudia Ferellyin and Ken Swagumilang with a 154-143 victory, advancing to the semifinals as top seeds in the mixed compound open event. Meanwhile, the Iranian pair also moved past Brazil’s Jane Karla Gogel and Reinaldo Vagner Charao Ferreira with a 153-151 win.
The open class in compound archery involves shooting from a sitting position, targeting an 80cm five-ring target from a distance of 50 meters. This competition is designed for archers with limited arm strength. Sheetal, born in 2007 with the rare congenital disorder phocomelia, has underdeveloped limbs due to her condition, while 39-year-old Rakesh faced his own challenges after a spinal cord injury in 2009 left him wheelchair-bound, a life-altering event that led him to battle depression.
Despite these challenges, both archers have proven their resilience and skill on the world stage, bringing pride to India with their performance at the Paralympics.
