Asian para games: Kishtwar’s 16-year-old girl, Reasi archer bag compound gold

Sheetal, 16 and Rakesh Kumar faced Chinese pair Yueshan and Xinliang, kept their nerves and scored 39 against 37 of the Chinese pair to romp home with gold medal; the 16-year-old holds the bow and arrows with her foot

World’s first armless female archer, Sheetal Devi, 16, who hails from a remote village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, joined Rakesh Kumar to bring home gold medal in compound open archery event at the Asian Para Games being held at China.

The 16-year-old holds the bow and arrows with her foot (HT Photo)

The mixed pair defeated the hosts to clinch gold for India. Sheetal and Rakesh faced Chinese pair Yueshan and Xinliang. The Indian pair kept their nerves and scored 39 against 37 of the Chinese pair to romp home with gold medal.

Rakesh had earlier won a silver medal in the men’s doubles compound alongside Suraj Singh, while Sheetal also won a silver in the women’s doubles event. Rakesh Kumar hails from Natalie village in Katra of Reasi district.

Both the para-archers were trained by their coach Kuldeep Kumar at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board’s Sports Complext at Katra. Sheetal Devi hails from Loi Dhar village in Kishtwar district.

The 16-year-old holds the bow and arrows with her foot.

In July , Sheetal won silver medal at Para-Archery World Championship in Czech Republic. The girl got her wings after the army spotted the her at a camp in 2019 in a remote area of Kishtwar.

Born without hands (Phocomelia), Sheetal’s journey from the rugged mountains of her homeland to the international stage is a testament to the human spirit’s indomitable power.

“In 2019, Sheetal caught the attention of the Rashtriya Rifles unit of Indian Army during a youth event at Mughal Maidan in Kishtwar. Recognising her exceptional talent and drive, the Indian Army took her under its wing, providing both educational support and facilitating medical assistance,” said defence spokesperson Lt Col Suneel Baartwal.