Sheetal Devi: Absolute Legend—How She Redefined Archery Without Arms.
Sheetal Devi pulled off at the 2025 World Archery Para Championships. Born with phocomelia—basically, no arms at all—she still ends up snatching gold at the biggest stage. Wild, right? Most of us can barely thread a needle with both hands, and here she is, nailing bullseyes with her feet and chin.
Her story kinda sounds like something out of a superhero origin movie. Inspired by Matt Stutzman (yep, the “armless archer” from the US), Sheetal started training at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Archery Academy, where her coaches got creative. Forget the textbook archery form—Sheetal’s version is a total remix: feet gripping the bow, chin and shoulder doing the aiming and drawing. It’s genius. Also, probably exhausting as hell.
We’re talking ten-hour practice days, easy. Flexibility drills, muscle memory stuff, and a mental game sharper than a chef’s knife. Honestly, just reading about it makes my back hurt.
How’d she actually shoot? Well, here’s the final against Turkey’s Oznur Cure Girdi, round by round:
List of Indian medallists at the 2025 World Archery Para Championships: Gold – Toman Kumar – Men’s Compound Open Individual, Gold – Sheetal Devi – Women’s Compound Open Individual, Silver – Rakesh Kumar – Compound Open Individual, Silver – Women’s Compound Open Doubles, Bronze – Mixed Compound Open Team
See those perfect 30s in the second and fifth rounds? That’s clutch. She lost the fourth end but just shrugged it off and finished strong. That’s ice in the veins, right there.
So yeah, Sheetal didn’t just break records—she basically broke everyone’s expectations of what’s possible in sports. India’s medal count went up, but honestly? Sheetal’s win is worth a whole haul by itself.
Sheetal Devi: Background and Early Life
Sheetal’s from Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir—a place most people outside India probably can’t even find on a map. Her family? Not rolling in dough. Her dad’s a small-time farmer, which, let’s be honest, in India usually means more struggle than security. Still, the folks at home and a few good mentors never let her feel like she couldn’t do something big.
She started grabbing headlines in 2022, when she was just 15, which is wild. That’s the age when most teens are just figuring out how not to embarrass themselves in front of their crush, and here she is, stacking medals at the Asian Games and beyond.
Some aspects from those early days:
– A coach at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sports Academy saw her hustling—agility, guts, the whole deal—and decided, “Yeah, she’s got something.”
– Archery wasn’t even a lifelong dream or anything. She picked it up just to see what it’s about, then boom, it turns out she’s basically a prodigy.
– She crushed it at local and national para archery events, and that opened the door to the big leagues: the Asian Games, the World Championships in Pilsen, the Paris Paralympics, and then the Gwangju showstopper.
– The Indian sports bigwigs, a bunch of NGOs, and her hometown all went all-in for her. Her wins basically became a symbol for getting more people with disabilities into sports. Kinda overdue, honestly.
India at Gwangju 2025 Para Worlds
India brought the heat at the Gwangju 2025 Para Archery World Championships. Like, they didn’t just show up—they owned the place.
Here’s the haul:7 medals in total. That’s two solo golds, a team silver, a mixed team bronze, and a couple more sprinkled in.
Sheetal? Gold in Women’s Compound Individual. No surprises there.
– Toman Kumar? Gold in Men’s Compound Individual, especially after his teammate Rakesh Kumar had a rough break—literally, his equipment bailed on him mid-final. Talk about drama.
– Sheetal and Sarita snagged silver in the Women’s Compound Team event, just falling short to Turkey in the final.
– The Compound Mixed Team (Sheetal + Toman) took bronze after beating Great Britain. Decent revenge for all those cricket heartbreaks, I guess.
India was basically the boss in compound archery—winning both the men’s and women’s individual golds and showing up in almost every finals match you can think of.
Other Indian Para Archery Medalists in 2025
So yeah, Sheetal wasn’t the only one making noise.
– Toman Kumar, as mentioned, totally delivered—especially after that wild equipment fail on Rakesh’s side. Toman was steady all week, just nailing those high scores.
Long story short: Indian para archery is having a moment, and Sheetal’s leading the charge. Watch this space.
Alright, let me break it down for you—no robot monotone, just the real story.
Sheetal Devi: Where She Came From
Sheetal’s from Kishtwar, way up in Jammu and Kashmir. Not exactly the land of luxury, if you catch my drift. Her dad’s a small farmer; money was always tight, but honestly, that just seemed to fuel her fire. Family had her back, coaches too—especially at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sports Academy. Someone noticed she had that spark, that crazy determination, and gave her a shot.
She didn’t even pick up a bow, thinking this’d be her calling. Just tried out archery for fun, you know how kids are. Turns out, she was a natural. What some folks call a “limitation”, she turned into her superpower. Next thing you know, she’s bagging medals at local and national para meets, then boom—she’s on the international stage by 15. Asian Games, World Championships in Pilsen, even the Paris Paralympics before Gwangju? Wild. The whole town got behind her – sports authorities, NGOs, you name it. She legitimately became the poster child for “don’t count anyone out”.
India at Gwangju 2025: The Big Show
India went full beast mode at the 2025 Para Archery Worlds in Gwangju. Not just showing up—dominating. Seven medals in total? Yeah, that happened. Two individual golds. Sheetal took Women’s Compound like she was born for it. Toman Kumar did his thing in the men’s event (we’ll get to that wild final in a sec).
Silver? The women’s team—Sheetal and Sarita—made it all the way, just dropping the final to Turkey. Bronze? Mixed team, Sheetal and Toman again, smacking down Great Britain for that one.
Honestly, India owned compound archery. Both individual golds and pretty much every team event final—if you watched, you saw the tricolour everywhere.
Para Archery Medalists—The Crew
Sheetal’s not alone in this. Toman Kumar? Dude was on fire, snatching gold after his own teammate, Rakesh Kumar, had the world’s worst luck—equipment failure in the final. Brutal. But Toman was a machine, nailing those high scores all tourney long.
Alright, let’s talk about Sheetal Devi—because, honestly, her story’s got more plot twists and “are you kidding me?” moments than most Netflix dramas.
So she’s born out in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir—way out there, you know, not exactly the land of sports academies and protein shakes. Her dad’s a small-time farmer, and the family is scraping by, but—here’s the wild bit—they never let her sit in the corner feeling sorry for herself. Instead, her folks and some pretty awesome mentors just kept pushing her to try new stuff.
And then, boom, 2022 happens. Sheetal’s only 15, but she’s suddenly popping up at big events—Asian Games, para championships, you name it. Not your average “I tried archery at summer camp” story. She caught the eye of a coach at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sports Academy, who saw something fierce in her. Archery wasn’t even the plan; it just kind of happened—she got curious, picked up a bow, and next thing you know, she’s wrecking the rulebook, turning so-called “limitations” into straight-up superpowers.
She cleaned up at local and national para meets, kept climbing, and before long, she was winning at the Asian Games and the World Championships in Pilsen, got to the Paris Paralympics, and then, of course, Gwangju. And hey, it wasn’t just her own grind—Indian sports authorities, NGOs, and basically her whole hometown went all-in, backing her hugely. She became the poster kid for “inclusion” in Indian sports, not just a headline.
Now, on to Gwangju 2025. Man, India went OFF at the Para Archery Worlds. Seven medals! That’s not just good, that’s “hold my chai, watch this” good. We’re talking two golds in the individual compound events—Sheetal for the women, Toman Kumar for the men. Silver in the women’s team (Sheetal and Sarita came this close to gold) and a bronze in the mixed team with Sheetal and Toman again. India basically owned the finals in compound, showing up everywhere.
But Sheetal’s world title isn’t just another medal to hang on a wall. It’s way bigger. Her archery style—she pulls that bow with her feet, for real—totally flipped the script on what’s possible. She’s not just an athlete; she’s a walking, talking, bow-drawing comeback story, showing kids everywhere that yeah, the world’s going to throw obstacles and labels at you, but you can toss ‘em right back.
Honestly, India’s para-archery squad in 2025? They’ve kicked off what might just be the golden age for the sport in this country. Medals across every category, insane team spirit, and proof that when you get the right support, crazy things can happen.
Sheetal Devi’s journey is more than just a list of wins—she’s a living, breathing invitation for every kid who’s been told “nah, not for you” to go prove everyone wrong. If you’re looking for hope, for proof that hard work and a little bit of stubbornness can flip your life upside down… just look at her. And maybe, just maybe, pick up that bow yourself.
