India's Sheetal Devi scripts history in para-archery, grabs maiden gold after silver and bronze at Para World Archery Championships

India's Sheetal Devi created history and secured her maiden World Archery Para Championships gold medal after defeating Türkiye’s Oznur Cure Girdi in the Women’s Compound Open final in Gwangju, Korea, on Saturday. The young athlete's victory came after a consistently strong performance throughout the match.

Medal rush for Sheetal Devi at the Para World Archery Championships

The individual final proved to be a tense battle, but Sheetal maintained her composure and consistent shooting. The first end ended in a tie at 29-all, but Sheetal quickly took control. She fired three perfect 10s in the second end, winning it 30−27 and establishing an early lead.

Sheetal maintained her strong start through the remainder of the game, ultimately clinching the final with a score of 146−143. In a stunning display of talent, the teenage paralympic archer took down a formidable opponent: a three-time World Championship gold medalist and the reigning 2024 Paris Paralympics gold medalist.

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The battle remained intense as the third end concluded with another tie at 29-all. Sheetal experienced her only minor lapse in the fourth end, where she scored 28. Although Girdi edged out the end by a single point, Sheetal maintained a crucial two-point lead, standing at 116−114 heading into the final stage.

Demonstrating incredible resolve, Sheetal then sealed her maiden gold medal with a flawless performance in the final end. She hit three perfect arrows for a maximum score of 30, ensuring her victory. This individual gold marked her third medal of the day, following earlier wins of a silver and a bronze in the team events.

Earlier in the day, before her individual triumph, Sheetal Devi had already secured a team medal. Competing alongside Sarita in the compound women’s open team event, the duo won a silver medal after being defeated by Türkiye in the final.

Sheetal quickly followed that up by claiming a compound mixed team open bronze medal with Toman Kumar. They secured the bronze by defeating the Great Britain pair of Nathan MacQueen and Jodie Grinham.

However, the day concluded less successfully for India in the men's event. Shortly after Sheetal's win, India's Shyam Sunder Swami narrowly lost his compound men’s open bronze final, falling 141−148 to Britain's paralympic gold medallist, Nathan MacQueen.