Mumbai, Aug 28: At just 17, Sheetal Devi from Jammu is making waves in the archery world, defying expectations with her remarkable skill and determination. Born with phocomeliaâa rare congenital condition that results in undeveloped or absent limbsâSheetal is one of the few female archers globally competing without the use of her arms.
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games are fast approaching, and Sheetal is drawing significant attention as a formidable competitor. Her journey into archery began at 15, when she first encountered a bow and arrow. Despite being from the remote village of Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir, where access to the sport was minimal, her life took a turn in 2022 when she met her coaches, Kuldeep Vedwan and Abhilasha Chaudhary. They were inspired by her resolve and began training her to use her legs and back with a custom-designed device, inspired by American archer Matt Stutzman.
Due to financial constraints, Sheetal’s family couldn’t afford the specialized equipment. Instead, Coach Kuldeep procured a locally-sourced bow that met her needs. A significant part of their challenge was adapting her body strength to effectively shoot arrows using her legs and back. Coach Abhilasha explained, “We had to balance the strength in her legs and modify it to use it technically.”
The training regimen started with basic exercises and gradually progressed to actual archery. Within four months, Sheetal advanced from hitting 5-metre targets to 50-metre targets using a real bow. Her hard work paid off at the 2023 Asian Para Games, where she secured gold in the womenâs individual compound event, becoming the first female armless archer to win a medal at the Para World Championships.
Romica Sharma, a fellow compound archer, describes Sheetal as âa little ziddi as well as masoom,â adding that she also enjoys watching serials. Despite her achievements, Sheetal has been away from home since moving to Katra for training and plans to stay until the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games conclude, hoping to return with a medal.
As she prepares for the upcoming games, Sheetal Devi stands as a symbol of courage and perseverance, poised to make history on the global stage.