Sheetal Devi Creates History, Becomes First Para Archer in India’s Able-Bodied Junior Team for Asia Cup
Paralympics qualifier, World Championship gold medallist para archer Sheetal Devi selected in India's able-bodied junior team for Asia Cup Stage 3 in Jeddah.
Aadrika Tayal 
New Delhi (India) November 8: World compound champion para-archer Sheetal Devi, who was born without arms, broke another barrier on Thursday by getting named in the Indian able-bodied junior team for the upcoming Asia Cup Stage 3 in Jeddah.
Anand Mahindra’s Heartfelt Praise
India’s successful para archer Sheetal Devi Devi recently secured a place into India’s able-bodied junior team for the forthcoming Asia Cup Stage 3 to be held in Jeddah, and one of those people cheering her was Indian Industrialist Anand Mahindra.
Mahindra appreciated her, saying, “Sheetal, I never had ANY doubt that you were ‘able-bodied.’ In fact, you are more able-bodied than all the rest of us. And your heart is the strongest. You make India proud.”
Dreams Turn to Reality
Sheetal broke the news in an inspirational post on X as she explained why her heartfelt wish was finally coming true at long last.
She said, “When I started competing, I had a small dream - to one day compete alongside the able-bodied and win medals. I didn’t make it at first, but I kept going, learning from every setback. Now, that dream is one step closer.”
And this is not the first time that Sheetal has received appreciation from the industrialist, as earlier in April this year also he had gifted Sheetal a spanking new Mahindra Scorpio-N by way of admiration.
Historic Milestone for Indian Sports
On the other side, it is for the first time in Indian Sports that a para athlete has been selected to participate at an able-bodied international competition, thus making Sheetal Devi’s selection an historic one for Indian sport.
2024 Paris Paralympics bronze winner in mixed team compound event, Sheetal for one has taken cues from Turkey’s Paris Paralympic champion Oznur Cure Girdi who also competes in able-bodied category at the world level.
A Record-Breaking Selection Trial
Competing against more than 60 able-bodied archers in the event from June 24-28 under identical conditions, the 18-year-old from Jammu and Kashmir finished third overall after the gruelling four-day national selection trials that took place at Sonipat.
Sheetal aggregated 703 points in the qualification rounds — 352 and 351 respectively in the first and second sets – to tie with top place-teaser Tejal Salve’s aggregate.
In the end ranking, Tejal (15.75 points) and Vaidehi Jadhav (15 points) claimed first and second place respectively with Sheetal finishing third on 11.75 points, just pipping Maharashtra’s Dnyaneshwari Gadadhe by a quarter of a point.
From Katra to Global Glory
Sheetal, who is trained at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Sports Complex in Katra has already made an irreplaceable mark on the world by becoming female armless world champion in para archery this year.
Two years after she had first started playing the sport in 2023, Sheetal became the first armless woman archer to pocket a World Para Championship medal - a silver. Later in the year, she won gold and silver at the Para Asian Games and rose to be world No 1 in compound para archery.
Before her 18th birthday, she won bronze in the mixed team event at the Paralympics in 2024.
