India Sheetal Devi Wins Gold at 2025 World Para Archery Championship-Highlights

Historic Achievement

• Indian archer Sheetal Devi (18) took her maiden individual gold medal at the Women Compound Open at the 2025 World Para Archery Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
• She beat Oznur Cure Girdi (a 3 time world champion and Paralymptic gold medallist) of Turkiye 146-143 in the final.
• This is a great milestone in the history of the Indian para sports, which has shown competitiveness and strength in the global arena.

Medal Haul for India

• Gold: Women Compound Open (Individual)- Sheetal Devi.
• Silver: Women Compound Open Team - Sheetal Devi and Sarita (lost to Turkiye in the final).
• Bronze: Mixed Team Open, Compound Bronze - Sheetal Devi and Toman Kumar (lost to Nathan MacQueen and Jodie Grinham of Britain).
• Overall Medals: 3 championships.

Gold Medal Match Breakdown

• 1st End: Tied 29-29.
• 2nd End: Sheetal flew away with a 30-27.
• Final Round: Sealed win with another perfect 30, and winning 146-143.

About Sheetal Devi

• Jammu & Kashmir, Born in 2007 , Kishtwar with phocomelia (both arms missing).
• Takes shoots with a special method of the legs and chin .
• One of the youngest receivers is Arjuna Awardee (2023) .
• Paris 2024 Paralympics Mixed Team Compound bronze winner.
• Several Asian Para Games and continental medals.

India's Overall Performance

• Toman Kumar: Gold in Men Compound (rival Rakesh Kumar had to withdraw because of equipment failure).
• Shyam Sunder Swami: Etched by a narrow margin bronze with Britain with Nathan MacQueen.
• The increasing involvement of Signals India in para archery and extensive preparations to future international tournaments such as the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles .

Significance

• The story of Sheetal and his path to Kishtwar to the global champion is an inspiration to millions and reshapes the possibilities in para sports.
• The multi-medal win of India highlights well-organized growth and increased prominence in the global para archery.