Silver is won by Para archer Sheetal in the Khelo India meet

Paralympic gold champion Sheetal Devi practiced with able-bodied archers to improve her technique. The armless archer was back at it, competing at the DDA Yamuna Sports Complex in the Khelo India national ranking competition for ladies.

In August of this year, Sheetal, a medal contender at the Paris Paralympics, lost to Ekta Rani of Haryana in the sub-junior girls’ final shoot-off. The Jammu teen lost 138-140, but not before giving global juvenile champion Ekta a serious fright. Sheetal was awarded a cash reward of Rs 40,000, and Ekta was awarded a prize money of Rs 50,000.

Sheetal, a girl from Jammu, said, “This result will help me more going forward in the international platforms and the Olympics.” “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,” her personal coach Abhilasha said.

“We are gaining the same experience here, but we must go overseas for exposure. These kinds of domestic competitions are contributing to the reason. Abhilasha said, “This is assisting Sheetal’s Olympic preparation.”

It was undoubtedly a difficult experience for Ekta. Ekta, who won a gold medal in the 2023 Archery Youth World Championships in Ireland, stated: “I’ve faced Sheetal before, so I had match experience against her.” We also squared off in Patiala in December of last year. Since she is an armless archer, it is enjoyable to play against her and very motivating.

Three age groups competed in the Khelo India ranking archery tournament: senior, junior, and sub-junior for both compound and recurve bows. There were 87 archers competing in this competition.