Indian para archers have made a significant mark at the Paris Paralympics 2024, with impressive performances in the women’s individual compound open ranking round and other events on Thursday.
Seventeen-year-old Sheetal Devi, competing with her legs due to being born without arms, achieved a remarkable new personal best score of 703 in the women’s individual compound open ranking round. Sheetal’s outstanding performance earned her second place, just a point behind Turkiye’s Oznur Cure Girdi, who set a new world record with a score of 704. This new world record surpassed the previous mark of 698 set by Great Britain’s Phoebe Paterson Pine earlier this month, and the Paralympic Record of 694 held by Jessica Stretton from Tokyo 2020.
Sheetal, who is seeded second, has been granted a bye and will commence her knockout campaign directly from the round of 16 on Saturday. She will face the winner of the round of 32 match between Mariana Zuniga of Chile and Choi Na Mi of Korea. Meanwhile, Sarita, who finished ninth with a score of 682, will compete against Malaysia’s Nur Jannaton Abdul Jalil in the round of 32 on Friday.
In the men’s individual compound open ranking round, Rakesh Kumar delivered a commendable performance, securing fifth place with a score of 696. Shyam Sundar Swami finished 15th with a score of 688. Rakesh will face Senegal’s Aliou Drame, while Swami will go up against Thailand’s Comsan Singpirom in the round of 32, also on Friday.
Sheetal and Rakesh Kumar combined their efforts to break the mixed team compound open ranking round world record with a total score of 1399. The top-seeded Indian duo is set to play the winner of the match between Indonesia and Iraq in the quarterfinals on September 2.
In the men’s recurve open event, Harvinder Singh, who clinched a bronze medal at the Tokyo Paralympics, finished ninth in the ranking round with a score of 637. The top position was claimed by Frenchman Guillaume Toucoullet, who set a new Paralympic Record with a score of 652. Harvinder will face Chinese Taipei’s Lung-Hui Tseng in his opening-round match on September 4.
In women’s recurve, Pooja achieved seventh place with a score of 585. She has been granted a bye and will enter directly into the round of 16 on September 3. Pooja will compete against the winner of the round of 32 match between Turkiye’s Yagmur Sengul and Cuba’s Leydis Lazara Posada Canizares.
The mixed recurve team event will see Harvinder Singh and Pooja take on Australia’s Taymon Kenton-Smith and Amanda Jennings in the round of 16 on September 5.
The Paralympic Games feature a range of categories in para-archery, including wheelchair (W1, W2) and open events. Athletes in the wheelchair category must exhibit some degree of muscle strength loss, coordination issues, or limited movement range, while open category competitors may participate in various positions including sitting, standing, or leaning on a stool, depending on their physical capabilities.
As the games progress, Indian para archers continue to display exceptional skill and resilience, setting the stage for a promising outcome in the remaining events.
