Paris Paralympics: Archer Sheetal Devi shoots an incredible 703, just one short of new World Record

In the end, as it often does at the highest level, it came down to one arrow. A few centimeters. One 9 in a sea of 10s and bull’s eyes. The two archers who are considered to be favourites for the Women’s Individual Compound Open title at Paris Paralympics pushed each other all the way in the qualification rounds.

India’s Sheetal Devi shot a sensational 703 out of a possible 720… but Turkey’s Oznur Cure went one better in the final End of six arrows to score 704. Both archers comfortably bettered the existing World Record of 698, but it was Cure who came away with the new global benchmark on a day of remarkable shooting by the two favourites.

It was a battle royale for the top two spots as Cure made a strong comeback in the second half while Sheetal was largely steady in the top two from the get go. In the second half, Sheetal shot three Ends of perfect 60s, and with six arrows to go, both archers where tied on 644 points. While Sheetal managed a fine 59 in the final End, Cure shot six 10s. According to World Archery, it literally came down to the last arrow after both of them shot five 10s from 644. Overall out of 72 arrows in qualification, Sheetal shot 59 10s out of which 24 were inner ring Xs, while her Turkish opponent shot 56 10s with 29 Xs. In the process, they became the first two women in the history of this discipline to cross 700 in the 72-arrow qualification format.

Target 1: Oznur Cure – 704. 🇹🇷
Target 2: Sheetal Devi – 703. 🇮🇳
One decisive arrow to set the WORLD RECORD. 🔥#ArcheryInParis #ParaArchey pic.twitter.com/jMAJJjsfNT

— World Archery (@worldarchery) August 29, 2024

Of course, the ranking rounds only determine the seedings and Sheetal, the only female armless archer competing at Paris Paralympics, ensured that she wouldn’t have to face Cure anytime before the final should both athletes make it that far. If they do, it will be a repeat of the Pilsen 2023 World Archery Para Championships final, where Cure overcame Sheetal’s challenge.

The 17-year-old Indian prodigy from Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir, was born with Phocomelia, a rare congenital disorder that causes under-developed limbs. She uses her right feet, right shoulder and jaw to release the arrow and gets the upper body strength from a penchant for climbing trees as a kid. Coming into Paris, she was already earmarked as one of the medal contenders in her category and by comfortably smashing her previous personal best of 689 in the qualification round, she made a strong start on her path to the podium. Sheetal made headlines during the Para Asian Games last year as well when she won two gold medals and a silver.

Shooting alongside Sheetal in this event, Sarita finished 9th in the ranking round. While Sarita will begin her knockout campaign in the round of 32, Sheetal gets a bye into the round of 16. In the men’s individual recurve open ranking round, Harvinder Singh – who made history in Tokyo as the first archer from India to win a medal at either of the Summer Games – earned 9th seeding with a score of 637.

In men’s compound, Rakesh had a solid outing too, finishing 5th with a total of 696. A combined total of 1399 was enough to give India the top seeding in mixed team compound. And also, that meant it was a new World Record score for mixed team qualification in compound, combined with Sheetal’s 703. In women’s recurve, Pooja was placed 7th with a score of 585, which also earned India 5th seed in mixed team along with Harvinder.

Heartbreak for Aruna

If Sheetal’s was a case of Paralympic debut going as well as possible, it was double heartbreak for Aruna Tanwar in Para Taekwondo. Back in Tokyo on her debut, Aruna had fought through to the quarterfinals despite a hairline fracture, but it became serious enough for her to miss out on repechage. Three years on, it was a brutal leg injury that ended her hopes early.

Early in her bout against Turkey’s Nurcihan Ekinci, the 24-year-old appeared to have her right knee buckled as she fell forward. She let out an immediate cry of pain that echoed in the arena and laid on her back as she was treated for a considerable amount of time. As she got up in tears and decided to fight till the end of the stipulated five minutes, the audience applauded her on. It was however too much for the Indian to manage as she lost 0-19 and limped off the playing area in tears.

In Para Badminton, there were comfortable group-stage wins for medal contenders like Suhas Yathiraj (SL4), Nihya Sre Sumathy Sivan (SH6) and Palak Kohli (SL4). But the standout results of the day came from Sukant Kadam and Manisha Ramadass. While Sukant (SL3), making his Paralympics debut after missing out in 2021, fought back from a game down against Malaysian fourth seed Mohd Amin Burhanuddin. In the decider, Sukant trailed 16-20 facing four match points, but won six in a row to register an impressive win. Later, Manisha Ramadass (SU5) came back from a slow start to clinch a three-game battle against local favorite Maud Lefort. In a group that also has reigning World and Paralympic champion Qiu Xia Yang, it was a must-win for Manisha and she held her nerve in the end.

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