Sheetal Devi Strikes Double Gold, Swati Chaudhary Creates History At Asian Para Games

Armless archer Sheetal Devi reigned supreme in the women's compound individual and mixed team events to claim gold in both competitions, while Swati Chaudhary scripted history by winning India's first-ever W1 medal with a silver at the Asian Para Games on Thursday. Returning to the range less than a couple of hours after winning the mixed team title with Toman Kumar, the 19-year-old Sheetal, the reigning world champion, overcame a four-point deficit to defeat Singapore's Alim Nur Syahidah 142-139 in a repeat of the Hangzhou 2023 final. She had earlier won silver in the women's compound team event alongside quadruple amputee Payal Nag on Wednesday, matching her silver-medal finish in the same event at the Hangzhou Games, where she had partnered Sarita Devi.

Swati, meanwhile, squandered a 4-2 lead to lose 4-6 to China's Cen Mengkan in the women's W1 individual final, settling for silver but becoming India's first medallist in the category.

In the final event of the day, Toman lost the men's individual bronze-medal playoff to China's Zhang Yicheng 139-148.

India now have four medals from the archery competition at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square, with the recurve elimination rounds scheduled for Friday.

Three medals short of their haul of seven (two gold, three silver and two bronze) in 2023, India can still match that tally, with both the men's and women's teams in contention for gold after advancing to the finals. The mixed team will begin its campaign in the semifinals.

Sheetal's Golden Double

Sheetal's second successive individual gold capped another remarkable campaign in which she also retained her mixed team crown, having won that title alongside Rakesh Kumar on her Asian Para Games debut in 2023.

The world No. 1 in the women's compound category had to dig deep against 41-year-old Alim, who raced to a four-point lead after the opening two ends of six arrows.

But the sensation from Jammu and Kashmir mounted a superb comeback, reeling off six 10s, including three Xs, arrows landing closest to the centre of the target, across the next two ends to overturn the deficit and take a two-point lead into the final end of three arrows.

Sheetal then held her nerve, shooting three 9s for a total of 27 points in the final end.

Under pressure, Alim managed only 26 points, with scores of 9, 8 and 9, as the Indian signed off with three medals to match her feat from Hangzhou.

A couple of hours before her individual final, Sheetal and Toman struck gold in the compound mixed team event, beating Indonesia's Teodora Audi Ayudia Ferelly and Ken Swagumilang 151-148 to deliver India's first archery gold of the ongoing Games.

The reigning world champions in their respective individual categories, Sheetal and Toman produced a composed display in the final after setting a world record in qualification with 1,402 points, two more than the previous mark.

The top seeds edged ahead 38-37 in the opening end before extending their advantage to 77-73 in the second, dropping just one point.

The Indonesians clawed back a point in the third end, but the Indians retained a three-point cushion. Both pairs scored 38 in the final end, but India secured gold thanks to their established lead.

Sheetal and Toman had survived a major scare in the semifinal against Chinese Taipei, where Toman's final arrow missed the scoring zone and registered a zero.

The Chinese Taipei pair of Lee Yun-Hsien and Yang Jyun-Kai capitalised on the opening but could not overturn India's advantage, as Sheetal and Toman scraped through 142-141.

Born without arms, world No. 1 Sheetal uses her feet and legs to position the compound bow and her shoulder and jaw to draw and release the string.

Her remarkable accuracy proved decisive in the semifinal, where she dropped just three points across eight arrows, keeping India firmly in contention despite Toman's misfire.

A serving CRPF constable and former CoBRA commando from Nawagaon village in Chhattisgarh's Balod district, 31-year-old Toman has risen to become the world No. 1 para archer in the men's compound category after overcoming a life-changing injury sustained during an anti-Maoist operation.

Toman lost his left leg in an IED blast during a joint search operation against Maoists in Jharkhand's Lohardaga district in February 2022. Critically injured in the explosion, he later underwent an amputation.

After taking up para archery, Toman rose through the ranks to become world champion in 2025 and reach the top of the world rankings in the men's compound category.

Swati's Historic W1 Silver

Earlier, Swati became India's first-ever medallist in the W1 category after losing 4-6 to China's Cen Mengkan in the women's individual final.

The top-seeded Indian, who won bronze at the World Archery Para Series in Ahmedabad last month, squandered a 4-2 lead in a final of fluctuating fortunes.

She won the opening set 25-17 after Cen misfired with one of her arrows, but the Chinese archer fought back to take the second set 22-21 and level the contest at 2-2.

Swati regained the lead by edging the third set 22-21.

However, the world No. 23 Chinese archer turned the contest around with a 30-20 win in the fourth set, firing three 10s to level the match at 4-4.

With the title on the line, Cen held her nerve in the decider, scoring 28 to Swati's 21 to complete the comeback and claim her maiden Asian Para Games gold.

The W1 classification is for archers with significant impairments affecting both the upper and lower limbs.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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