India’s Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar secured the bronze medal in the mixed compound open archery event at the Paris 2024 Paralympics on Monday. In a thrilling contest, they narrowly defeated Italy’s Eleonora Sarti and Matteo Bonacina with a final score of 156-155.
The Indian team delivered four perfect 10s in the final set, staging a remarkable comeback to claim the podium spot. Their score also tied the Paralympic record of 156 points. Notably, 17-year-old Sheetal Devi became the youngest Indian athlete to win a Paralympic medal.
She was the only female armless archer competing at Paris 2024. Meanwhile, Rakesh Kumar, at 39, celebrated his first Paralympic medal after years of consistently performing at the highest levels. He is already a gold medallist at both the Para World Championship and the Asian Para Games.
Rakesh Kumar’s journey to this achievement has been a story of resilience. After suffering a severe spinal cord injury that confined him to a wheelchair, his life took a drastic turn just as he was becoming financially stable enough to support his elderly parents.
Battling depression, he overcame a dark period when he even considered ending his life. On the other hand, Sheetal Devi was born with phocomelia, a rare congenital condition that resulted in her arms being underdeveloped.
She has mastered the skill of using her legs to shoot, making her performance all the more remarkable.
The Indian pair had a dominant run in the quarter-finals, defeating Indonesia’s Teodara Ferelly and Ken Swagumilang 154-143.
However, they faced a heartbreaking semi-final loss to the Islamic Republic of Iran in a shoot-off after both teams were tied at 152.
This bronze was India’s second Paralympic archery medal, following Harvinder Singh’s historic bronze in the men’s individual recurve open event at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
Earlier in the competition, Sheetal Devi finished second in the ranking round of the women’s individual compound open archery event, which granted her a direct entry into the round of 16. However, her individual campaign ended in a narrow one-point defeat in the opening round.