Khelo India Para Games
NEW DELHI, March 23: Defending champion Sheetal Devi showcased remarkable resilience to secure her second gold medal at the Khelo India Para Games, overcoming Odisha’s Payal Nag 109-103 in a gripping women’s compound open final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Sunday.
Despite trailing early against Payal, the world’s first quadruple amputee woman archer, Sheetal regained momentum in the third round and sealed her victory in the decisive fifth round.
Payal, 17, who recently transitioned to a new shooting technique using a single prosthetic leg, put up a spirited fight but had to settle for silver. Her journey, marked by incredible determination and adaptation, has inspired many in the para-archery circuit.
Jharkhand’s Vijay Sundi beat Haryana’s Vikas Bhakar 6-4 in the men’s recurve open gold medal match while Haryana’s Pooja beat Maharashtra’s Rajshri Rathod 6-4 in the women’s recurve open gold medal match.
All eyes were on the women’s compound gold medal match. Sheetal Devi started with a score of 8 and 7 while Payal started off with double 10s. Payal, 17, however lost the upper hand in the third round where she shot a 7 for the first time and Sheetal got back to her consistent best of 9s and 10s. The deciding fifth round saw Sheetal clinching the gold at the Khelo India Para Games 2025.
“Firstly, Payal played very well in the final and with her continuous hard work, she will definitely get a medal for India soon. Personally, I am grateful for all the blessings bestowed by Mata Rani that I won my second gold medal at the Khelo India Para Games,” Sheetal told.
Meanwhile, Punjab powerlifter Jaspreet Kaur grabbed a share of the spotlight with two ‘special’ archers as she bettered her own the national record in 45kg category to win the gold on the fourth day of the Khelo India Para Games (KIPG) here today. The 31-year-old Kaur lifted 101kg to become the first athlete in KIPG 2025 to break the national record.
Kaur, who had also won the gold medal in the same event in the 2023 edition, broke her own previous national record of 100kg. “I wanted to perform even better this time around. Shattering a national record has also helped me climb up the national rankings,” she told.
Lifting 16kg more in less than two years was no easy feat. Kaur went through intense training, researched various new techniques, and made changes to her diet to retain fitness. But the biggest challenge to surpass was dealing with the anxiety issues.
“I made my debut in 2022 at the nationals. So, I always felt I was quite new to the sport. It took me a while to realise that to develop strength and muscle, it would take time. “It does not happen overnight. It took me three years to deliver such performances,” said Kaur, who had polio at the age of three.
(Agencies)
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