India end Pilsen World Para Archery Championships with 3 medals
India wrapped up World Para Archery Championships with three medals and six Paralympics quotas at Pilsen, Czech Republic on Saturday, July 22. The Championships, which witnessed more than 250 athletes from 55 countries, was the first para archery event this year to award quotas for Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
India sent as many as 13 athletes to participate in the World Para Archery Championships, and six of them won the quota for the Paralympics. Rakesh and Sarita are the first pair to win the gold medal for India as the duo clinched the medal in the Compound Open Mixed doubles event. The Indian pair defeated Charao and Gogel from Brazil to finish first on the podium.
Sarita also won a bronze medal in the Compound Women's Doubles event along with Jyothi. The Indian pair finished third to clinch the bronze medal. Notably, Sarita finished fourth in the Compound Women's Singles category. She lost the Bronze medal match of the World Para Archery Championships to Jane Karla Gogel.
Sheetal Devi was the rising star of the World Para Archery Championships
Sheetal Devi produced a stunning performance in the World Archery Para Championships, where she clinched the silver medal in the Women's Compound Open Event.
The 16-year-old had a good show against Turkey's Oznur Cure. The current World No. 5 Oznur Cure won the gold medal with a total of 140, finishing just two ahead of India's Sheetal.
Sheetal, who is the only armless female archer in the Championships, is trained by Kuldeep Kumar and started archery only 11 months ago. Kuldeep Kumar took her to the National championships to show her how para-archers train. Since then, Sheetal Devi has been practicing the sport.
At this tender age, she is already one of the best performers for India in the 2023 World Archery Para Championships. Sheetal also grabbed a silver medal in European Para Archery Cup in May.
The youngster has grabbed the attention of famous armless archer Matt Stutzman, who has been a mentor for her recently. After shining in the World Para Archery Championships, Sheetal Devi now aims to win medals for India in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.