Khelo India Para Games: Sheetal Devi shines with gold in compound archery

NEW DELHI — The inaugural Khelo India Para Games witnessed an exceptional display of skill and determination as Sheetal Devi clinched the gold in the Open category of the compound archery event at the JLN Stadium on Saturday.

Sheetal’s remarkable score of 141 proved decisive in fending off a fierce challenge from Uttar Pradesh’s Jyoti Baliyan, who secured the silver with a score of 138. Sarita from Haryana claimed the bronze with a score of 137.

Sheetal Devi, the armless archer from Jammu, has been creating waves in the archery world, and her success at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou added to her growing reputation. However, the competition at the Khelo India Para Games was intense, demanding Sheetal to showcase both her archery skills and mental strength to emerge victorious in a thrilling finish against Jyoti Baliyan.

In the men’s recurve archery category, Paralympian Harvinder Singh of Haryana exhibited his prowess by clinching the gold medal. Vivek Chikara from Uttar Pradesh secured the silver, while Sahil from Haryana claimed the bronze, highlighting the competitive spirit among the para-archers.

At the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, Rudransh Khandelwal of Rajasthan, a silver medalist at the Para Asian Games 2023, continued his stellar performance. Khandelwal secured the gold medal in the Men’s 50m Pistol SH1 event with an impressive score of 223.4, surpassing Haryana’s Singhraj, who settled for the silver with a score of 216.4. Rajasthan’s Shiv Raj Sankhala secured the bronze medal with a score of 194.7.

Also read: Khelo India Para Games: Delhi’s Latika makes a winning start in para-badminton