Born with underdeveloped arms, Sheetal Devi didn’t let that hold her back. Using her legs and jaw strength, she competes in para archery and has become an Asian Games gold medallist.
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At just 17, armless archer Sheetal Devi has captured the hearts of sports fans with her unwavering determination and unique archery style. Using her right leg to raise the bow, her right shoulder to pull the string, and the strength of her jaw to release the arrow, she performs all of this while seated on a chair.
Her archery is like watching poetry in motion but it also highlights anything is possible.
“I believe that no one has any limitations, it’s just about wanting something enough and working as hard as you can,” she had said in an interview. “If I can do it, anyone else can.”
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Her message wasn’t just hollow words.
On Thursday in the individual women’s compound para archery ranking round in the Paris 2024 Paralympics, Sheetal finished second, missing a world para archery record
by one point.
“I made my parents proud. I made my coach proud. I made my country proud.” 🇮🇳🥰
Introducing @Sheetal_archery, India’s armless archery prodigy.#Paralympics #Paris2024 #ParaArchery pic.twitter.com/xrZ13RlbS2
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 14, 2024
Who is Sheetal Devi?
It’s amazing to think that Sheetal picked up archery only at the age of 15.
She was born on 10 January 2007 in Kishtwar district in Jammu and Kashmir with a condition called phocomelia due to which she had underdevloped arms. But that did not stop her from doing her own things. Sheetal trained herself to climb trees by using her legs or grip pencils by using her toes.
The biggest turning point in her life, however, came in 2022 when she was introduced to bow and arrow for the first time. After being scouted by the Indian Army, Sheetal was asked to visit the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board sports complex in Jammu’s Katra, around 200km away from her home.
At the sports complex, Sheetal met coaches Kuldeep Vedwan and Abhilasha Chaudhary, who were quick to spot her talent and decided to work with her. Soon Sheetal shifted to to a training camp in Katra city as the Army started to fund her education and medical requirements. They also tried to get prosthetics for her, but it did not work.
Nonetheless, Vedwan and Chaudhary decided to help her pursue archery with Matt Stutzman as an inspiration. Stutzman, the American armless archer is a silver medal winner from the 2012 Paralympics.
Just like Stutzman, Sheetal’s unfaltering energy saw her quickly make a mark in sport as she won an individual gold medal in the women’s compound event at the 2023 Asian Para Games. She also won gold in the mixed doubles event besides clinching a silver in the women’s double competition.
In 2023, Sheeta was conferred with the Arjuna Award by the government of India and also received the Best Youth Athlete of the Year by the Asian Paralympic Committee.
Sheetal Devi Paralympics 2024 scheduled for 31 August*:
8:59 PM IST: Sheetal Devi vs Mariana Zuniga (Chile) in Women’s Individual Compound Open 1/8 Elimination
*Women’s Individual Compound Open quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will also take place on Saturday.