Armless Kashmiri Archer Sheetal Devi Creates History with Gold Medal

Gwangju (South Korea): Sheetal Devi (18) from Jammu & Kashmir has become the world’s first-ever female athlete without arms to win a gold medal in archery at the Para World Archery Championships.

On Saturday, Sheetal brought this rare honor to India by winning the compound individual category title. In the men’s category, India’s Toman Kumar also secured first place and claimed the title. In the final, due to equipment failure, fellow Indian Rakesh Kumar had to withdraw, which led to Toman Kumar being declared the gold medal winner.

In a thrilling final, Sheetal defeated world number one Oznur Cure Girdi of Turkey 146-143. The most remarkable fact is that Sheetal was the only athlete in the competition without both arms, yet she went on to clinch the gold medal. Using only her feet and mouth, she drew the bow and released arrows onto the target.

This feat has happened only once before in history: in 2022, American para-archer Matt Stutzman, also armless, won gold at the Dubai World Championships in the men’s division.

Meanwhile, Sheetal also bagged a bronze medal in mixed doubles alongside Toman Kumar and a silver medal in the team event with Sarita.