03/07/2025
Jammu and Kashmir's armless archer and Paralympics medallist Sheetal Devi edged out quadruple amputee Payal Nag of Odisha to win the gold in a much anticipated clash of the Khelo India Para Games here on Sunday.
In the battle between two teenagers, defending champion Sheetal came from behind to successfully bag her second gold medal of the Games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Pitted against the 17-year-old Payal, Sheetal, 18, triumphed 109-103 in their compounddunnyery open final match.
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Payal doesn't have all the four limbs as she lost them due to electrocution when she was a child, and she shoots with prosthetic legs.
The sunny conditions at the national capital didn't deter the competitive spirit of the archers as 40-year-old Rakesh Kumar and the 30-year-old Jyoti Baliyan also won gold medals in their respective events.
Jharkhand's Vijay Sundi beat Haryana's Vikas Bhakar 6-4 in the men's recurve open gold medal match while Haryana's Pooja won the women's recurve open gold after beating Maharashtra's Rajshri Rathod 6-4.
All eyes were on the women's compound gold medal match between Sheetal and Payal.
Sheetal started with scores of 8 and 7 while Payal began with double 10s.
Payal, 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.
"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 SAl Media.
The soft-spoken Payal spoke about the technical aspects of the sport in her first Khelo India Para Games.
"Earlier, I used to shoot the arrows with two devices in my prosthetic legs but now, I'm shooting with just one leg. It was a problem adjusting but I still reached the final despite the discomfort and also there was a lot of windy conditions today. But I am happy to have competed in the final and got the silver," she said.
As per her coach Kuldeep Vedwan, Payal got a new dev
