Indian para-archer Sheetal Devi reigned supreme at the World Archery Para Series 2026 on September 9, Wednesday as she clinched her first individual title or won gold in front of the home crowd in Ahmedabad. The 19-year-old edged off Kazakhstan’s Aizada Seidan in what was a nervy final moment in Ahmedabad.
World Archery Para Series 2026: Sheetal Devi keeps her composure during the shootout
The competition reached a fitting pointy end as the compound women’s final was tied at 144-144. But Sheetal maintained her cool to edge out her Kazakhstan opponent by 10-9 to etch history. The teenage prodigy had already underlined her strong form by topping the qualification with a season-best 698.
The tension of the shoot-off appeared to have little impact on Sheetal. With a composed demeanor, she smiled after delivering a perfect 10, striking the inner ring and intensifying the pressure on Seidan. The Indian team, gathered around the range, was confident of their victory even before the Kazakh archer took her shot. Seidan managed only a nine, prompting celebrations as Sheetal clinched the gold medal on the final day of the World Archery Para Series Stage III in Ahmedabad.
The win also comes at a very opportune time for her as she will be heading to Asian Para Games 2026 following this, an event that happens to be less than a couple of months away. Heading to Japan, the youngster holds both compound women’s individual and mixed-team titles, having won the two titles in 2023 in Hangzhou in China. Sheetal has won the bronze in Ahmedabad too along with Toman Kumar as the duo beat Iraq’s Sara Al-Hamid and Abbas Kadhim 157-145.
World Archery Para Series 2026: Sheetal Devi’s decorated trophy cabinet
For Sheetal, the gold medal in Ahmedabad marks another significant milestone in her extraordinary journey.
She made history as the first woman without arms to secure a para archery world title by winning the compound women’s crown at the 2025 World Archery Para Championships in Gwangju, where she triumphed over defending champion Znur Cre Girdi with a score of 146-143. Prior to this, she had already achieved a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships and became a two-time Asian Para Games champion in Hangzhou, securing individual and mixed-team gold as well as a team silver.
At the Paris 2024 Paralympics, Sheetal became India’s youngest Paralympic medalist at the age of 17, earning a bronze in the compound mixed-team event alongside Rakesh Kumar. She has also attained the world No. 1 ranking in compound women’s para archery and was honored as the para women’s winner at the 2023 World Archery Awards.
