Sheetal Devi: The armless odds-defying wonder para archer

The world of sports is no stranger to athletes overcoming odds to achieve big on the world stage. Yet, among all these odds-defying narratives, the story of the teenaged Indian para-archer Sheetal Devi stands out.

Sheetal Devi was born in 2007 with phocomelia, a rare congenital disorder leading to underdeveloped limbs. The condition resulted in her arms not fully forming.

Fast forward to 2024 and Sheetal Devi’s achievements in archery are already in the headlines after just two seasons.

Sheetal Devi made history at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, clinching the bronze medal in the mixed compound archery team event alongside Rakesh Kumar. At just 17 years old, she became India’s youngest Paralympic medallist and only the second armless archer in history to win a Paralympic medal.

In 2023, Sheetal Devi’s stellar debut season started with an individual silver at the World Archery Para Championships, becoming the first female armless archer to win a medal in the competition’s history. The medal also helped Sheetal obtain a quota for India for the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

Her impressive season continued at the Asian Para Games 2023 in October. She bagged gold medals in the individual compound and mixed team events apart from winning the silver medal in the women’s doubles competition.

What makes Sheetal Devi’s achievements all the more astonishing is that she is the only active female international archer to shoot without arms.

Sheetal Devi’s early days

Sheetal was born in Loidhar village in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir on January 10, 2007. Despite being born with a physical condition that posed inherent challenges, Sheetal Devi was athletically gifted and never let her limitations stop her from making the most of her childhood.

As a kid, Sheetal possessed a strong will and enjoyed climbing trees as a pastime. The activity helped her build a strong upper body which proved to be a turning point later in her life.

The Indian Army played a pivotal role in propelling Sheetal Devi's career in para archery. It was at a youth event orchestrated by the Indian Army in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir in 2021 that Sheetal’s innate athleticism and confidence were discovered by army coaches.

However, the initial attempts from the coaches to make Sheetal Devi a force in para archery hit a stumbling block. The coaches initially planned to help her with prosthetics but it did not work out.

After further research, the coaches came to know about Matt Stutzman, an armless archer who used his legs to shoot a silver medal at the London 2012 Paralympics.

Sheetal Devi’s rise in archery

Sheetal soon joined former archer and coach Kuldeep Vedwan's academy. Despite competing among the abled archers at the national competitions, Sheetal Devi’s talent was for all to see.

Using her legs and feet akin to para archery legend Stutzman, Sheetal Devi embraced the unconventional shooting technique and competed at the Para Archery National Championship in Haryana in March-April 2022. Vedwan said the tournament was crucial as it helped Sheetal Devi get formal recognition as an Indian para archer.

Six months later, Sheetal Devi competed at the Junior National Championships among abled archers in Goa. While Devi did not win a medal, her performance proved to be a shot in the arm for her coach as well as Sheetal.

While most might have to devote years on the training grounds before making their mark on the global stage, Sheetal Devi proved she was among the elite few who were gifted with exceptional skills. 

Following her success in securing a silver medal at the 2023 world championships and two golds and one silver at the Asian Para Games, Sheetal Devi claimed the No. 1 spot in the rankings for para compound archers.

Sheetal wrapped up her year by winning the gold medal at the inaugural Khelo India Para Games 2023 in the women’s compound open category in New Delhi.

Sheetal Devi was named the Best Youth Athlete of the Year by the Asian Paralympic Committee and was nominated to receive the Arjuna Award at India’s National Sports Awards 2023. Arjuna Award is the second highest honour for Indian sportspersons after the Khel Ratna.

Sheetal is escorted by fellow compound archer Romica Sharma, also from Jammu and Kashmir, during international events to help in day-to-day activities.

“I oversee her practice sessions, carry the arrows, luggages, besides supervising her stretching work as well as ensuring her scoring,” Romica says. “Off the field also, I help in feeding her as well as speaking to her whenever she needs a helping hand.

“I feel more like a sister to her even though I’m a good friend of hers,” Romica adds. “Whenever she is travelling anywhere alone, I feel anxious about how she is doing. She is a little ziddi (persistent) as well as masoom (innocent) and also watches a lot of serials!”

At the Paris 2024 Paralympics, Sheetal Devi finished second in the ranking round of the women's individual compound open archery event to advance directly to the round of 16.

Sheetal logged a score of 703 out of 720 surpassing the previous ranking round world record of 698 but finished behind Turkiye's Oznur Cüre, who set a new world record in the ranking round with 704.

However, Sheetal suffered a narrow 138-137 loss to Tokyo 2020 Paralympics silver medallist Mariana Zuniga of Chile in the round of 16.

In the mixed team event, Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar clinched the bronze medal after securing a hard-fought victory against Italy's Eleonora Sarti and Matteo Bonacina, winning by a single point with a scoreline of 156-155.

The Indian archers hit four perfect 10s in the final set to come from behind and secure the medal. The Indian pair also equalled the Paralympic record of 156 in the process.

Sheetal and Rakesh dominated Indonesia's Teodara Ferelly and Ken Swagumilang in the quarter-finals to win 154-143. The Indian duo lost a semi-final on shoot-off against the Islamic Republic of Iran after both teams were tied at 152.

Sheetal Devi’s medals and achievements

• Paris 2024 Paralympics bronze medal - mixed compound open archery
• World Archery Para Championships 2023 silver medal - women’s individual compound open archery
• Asian Para Games 2023 gold medal - women’s individual compound open archery
• Asian Para Games 2023 gold medal - mixed doubles compound open archery
• Asian Para Games 2023 silver medal - women’s doubles compound open archery
• World No. 1 women’s compound para archer in the open category in 2023
• Khelo India Para Games 2023 gold medal - women’s individual compound open archery
• Arjuna Award 2023
• Best Youth Athlete of the Year 2023 by the Asian Paralympic Committee