The Jammu and Kashmir archer, the only competitor without arms in the tournament, shoots using her feet and chin
Sheetal Devi during the final against Oznur Girdi in Gwangju on Saturday. PIC/World Archery
The 18-year-old Indian Sheetal Devi scripted history by becoming the first woman armless archer to win world championship gold in the compound individual section, and Toman Kumar replicated the title run in the corresponding men’s event as India continued their good run at the Para World Archery Championships here on a riveting Saturday.
On a day when India produced two world champions and a total of five medals, Sheetal added a new page to history book, defeating Turkiye’s world No.1 Oznur Cure Girdi 146-143 to claim gold. The Jammu and Kashmir archer, the only competitor without arms in the tournament, shoots using her feet and chin.
In fact, the only previous instant of an armless archer winning gold came back in 2022 when USA’s Matt Stutzman stood on top of the podium during the Dubai World Championships. Sheetal had earlier won a mixed team bronze in the compound event with Toman Kumar, defeating Great Britain’s Jodie Grinham and Nathan MacQueen 152-149.
In the compound women’s open team event, Sheetal and Sarita settled for silver after losing to Turkey in the final. Later, Toman claimed the compound men’s title after fellow Indian Rakesh Kumar was forced to withdraw following a technical glitch as he lost 40-20 in an all-Indian final.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
