She Shoots with Her Feet, Wins with Her Spirit: Jammu's Sheetal Devi Strikes Gold, Seals Maiden World Para Archery Title

Para-archer Sheetal Devi, the reigning world champion and pride of Jammu and Kashmir, produced a masterclass in composure in front of a roaring home crowd in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, clinching her maiden individual title on the World Archery Para Series circuit in a nerve-shredding shoot-off.

The 19-year-old Sheetal Devi held her nerve against Kazakhstan's Aizada Seidan after the two archers finished locked at 144-144 in the compound women's final.

With gold on the line, Sheetal stepped up and drilled a perfect 10 in the inner ring — and simply smiled. The Indian contingent around the range knew it was over even before Seidan drew her bow. The Kazakh archer's response, a nine, was not enough. Ahmedabad erupted in celebration as India's golden girl sealed the title.

After finishing runner-up in the previous two stages in Thailand and Czechia, Sheetal finally broke the barrier in front of a home crowd by defeating Kazakhstan's Aizada Seidan in the final.

The reigning world champion came from behind in the last end to force a shoot-off after the scores were tied at 144. She then shot an inner 10 in the shoot-off, compared with Seidan's nine, to seal the victory.

Sheetal was India's only individual champion at the tournament. It was the perfect finish to a competition she had dominated from the start. She topped qualification with a season-best score of 698, breaking her own Asian record by a point, and cruised into the final with a 10-point cushion over Seidan and a first-round bye as the top seed.

Sheetal Devi: A True Inspiration

Born with phocomelia, a rare congenital disorder, Sheetal has overcome immense physical challenges to become a top-tier archer. Her arms did not fully develop, but her spirit and dedication have made her a Paralympic medallist at just 17 years of age.

Sheetal's story began in 2019, when her exceptional athletic abilities caught the attention of coaches from the Indian Army. With innovative training methods, she quickly mastered archery using her feet.

The gifted girl from the Mughal Maidan area of Kishtwar district in J&K was born without arms, but her achievements and the spirit with which she has moved forward in life are an inspiration to all.

Like other children her age, she attends school, studies well and performs most daily tasks on her own — all using her toes.

Life was progressing normally for her until she was noticed by a Rashtriya Rifles unit of the Indian Army at a youth event in Mughal Maidan in 2019.

Recognising her talent, the Army adopted her and took responsibility for her education. At the same time, efforts were made to arrange medical assistance and provide her with artificial limbs.

In May 2021, Bengaluru-based Meghna Girish, mother of Nagrota martyr Major Akshay Girish, came forward to help Sheetal.

Later, renowned actor Anupam Kher, after assessing her case, committed financial assistance through his NGO for her treatment and artificial limbs.

Sheetal Devi was subsequently trained and groomed at the sports complex of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.

For Sheetal, Ahmedabad is just the latest chapter in what is fast becoming one of Indian sport's most extraordinary stories.

She made history in 2025 by becoming the first armless woman to win a para-archery world title, defeating defending champion Öznur Cüre Girdi 146-143 at the World Archery Para Championships in Gwangju. That triumph followed a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships and back-to-back Asian Para Games gold medals in Hangzhou, where she won both the individual and mixed-team titles, besides a team silver.

At Paris 2024, she etched her name into the record books again, becoming India's youngest-ever Paralympic medallist at just 17 and winning a compound mixed-team bronze alongside Rakesh Kumar.

She has since climbed to World No. 1 in compound women's para archery and was honoured as the Para Women's winner at the 2023 World Archery Awards.