Armless archer Sheetal Devi praises Payal Nag as ‘expectional archer’

It was a moment of ‘sweet revenge’ for Sheetal Devi as she defended her gold medal at the Khelo India Para Games, held on 22-23 March in New Delhi, defeating rising star Payal Nag.

The 18-year-old armless archer, who became India’s youngest Paralympic medallist in Paris, overcame a challenging start and a formidable opponent in Nag, a 17-year-old quadruple amputee archer, to win the compound women’s final, 109-103. Jyoti Baliyan claimed the bronze medal.

This victory was particularly significant for Devi, as it avenged her earlier loss to Nag in the gold medal match at the Para Archery National Championships in Jaipur earlier this year.

A two-time gold medallist at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games, Devi acknowledged the intensity of the match, admitting she was pushed to her limits by her younger opponent, who has only been practicing archery for two years.

“It’s an incredible feeling to win my second gold at the Khelo India Para Games,” an elated Devi said. “Beating Payal was definitely a sweet revenge, but more than that, it was about proving to myself that I’ve grown as an archer and can overcome tough challenges.”

“Payal is a talented archer, and I’m glad I could come out on top this time.”

Nag, who lost both her arms and legs to electrocution and uses a special prosthetic device to shoot, trains at Devi’s former training centre at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and is preparing to make her international debut this year.

“Payal is an exceptional archer with a strong foundation in technique. Her game is characterised by precision and consistency. I’m impressed by her growth and development as an archer. God bless her with new heights in life,” Devi said, lauding her young competitor.

Other category winners included compound man Shyam Sundar Swami, recurve man Vijay Sundi, recurve woman Pooja, W1 man Adil Mohammed Nazir Ansari and W1 woman Swati Chaudhary.

This was the second edition of the Games, an annual event under the Khelo India initiative designed for athletes with disabilities. In 2023, Paralympic stars Harvinder Singh, Rakesh Kumar and Devi had excelled in their respective categories.

Khelo India is a national-level grassroots sports initiative aimed at nurturing young talent through structured competitions, talent identification and infrastructure development.

Header image courtesy of SAI Media.