Para World Archery C'ship: Sheetal Devi strikes gold; finishes with triple medal haul

Gwangju (South Korea), Sep 27 (IANS) India’s Sheetal Devi continued her extraordinary rise in para-archery, clinching the women’s compound individual gold at the Para World Archery Championships 2025 in Gwangju, South Korea, on Saturday with a thrilling 146-143 win over Turkiye’s world No.1 Oznur Cure Girdi.

The win capped off a memorable campaign for the 17-year-old from Jammu and Kashmir, who left the championships with a three-medal haul — gold in women’s compound individual, silver in the compound women’s open team event, and bronze in mixed team competition.

In the singles final, Sheetal displayed nerves of steel. After the opening end was tied at 29-29, she seized control in the second end by firing a hat-trick of 10s to take it 30-27.

Though the third end was evenly matched at 29-29 and she lost the fourth narrowly, Sheetal still held a slender 116-114 lead. She saved her best for last, shooting three perfect arrows in the final end to close out the gold at 146-143.

The triumph was particularly sweet as it came against Girdi, who had edged Sheetal 140-138 in the 2023 Pilsen World Championships final. This time, the Indian turned the tables with a clinical performance. Earlier in the semifinals, she had brushed aside Great Britain’s Jodie Grinham 145-140.

Sheetal also partnered with Sarita in the compound women’s open team final, where they started brightly, edging the first end 38-37. But after Turkiye’s Girdi and Bursa Fatma Un fought back strongly, the Indian pair faltered under pressure. A seven in the final end proved costly as the Turkish duo closed with 39 points out of 40 to win 152-148, leaving India with silver.

Earlier, Sheetal teamed up with Toman Kumar to secure a mixed team bronze, beating Great Britain’s Jodie Grinham and Nathan MacQueen 152-149.

Despite missing out on team gold, Sheetal’s individual triumph stood out as a shining display of composure and technical brilliance.

--IANS

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