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17-year-old rising Indian para-athlete, Sheetal Devi won a silver medal in the Khelo India NTPC National Ranking archery meet at the DDA Yamuna Sports Complex in Surajmal Vihar, New Delhi. It is worth mentioning that Sheetal Devi is the only international para-archery champion without arms.
Last year, she made headlines after securing a silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games 2023. At the Khelo India NTPC National Ranking Archery Meet, the 17-year-old barely missed out on the gold medal in the individual compound event final to Ekta.
Sheetal seemed upbeat about her performance at the event and reckoned that this would give her confidence going ahead at the upcoming events and Paralympics.
"This result will help me more going ahead in the international platforms and the Olympics," Sheetal was quoted as saying in a media release from the Sports Authority of India.
Meanwhile, her coach Abhilasha believes that taking part in such a competition helps Sheetal Devi prepare well for the Paralympics.
"Taking part in the national ranking tournament, alongside able-bodied competitors, is giving training and competition exposure which is much-needed prior to the Olympics," Abhilasha said.
"We have to go abroad for exposure but we are getting the same experience here itself. Domestic-level tournaments like these are helping the cause," she added.
“It feels good to play against her because she is an armless archer”- Ekta Rani on Sheetal Devi
Haryana's Ekta Rani pipped Sheetal Devi in the final shoot-off to win the gold medal in the event. The latter threatened to surpass Ekta but, eventually, lost 138-140.
Following her win, Ekta talked about her previous meeting with Sheetal Rani and how much it inspired her to play with an Indian archer, who is armless.
“I have faced-off with Sheetal previously so I had the match experience against her. We faced off in Patiala last December as well. It feels good to play against her because she is an armless archer and it gives a lot of motivation as well,” Ekta said.
Thanks to winning the gold medal, Ekta took home prize money of INR 50,000, while Sheetal bagged INR 40,000 for winning the silver medal.
