2025: Her Year – Sheetal Devi – the armless archer next sets her sights on able-bodied events at Asian Games

Recently, the 18-year-old competed at the able-bodied Compound Championship in Hyderabad and, along with Paris Paralympic champion Harvinder Singh, is nurturing a dream to succeed in a wider field.

Sheetal’s immediate target is the Phase I trials for the Asian Games at Kolkata in the first week of January. After becoming the second armless archer to win the World Para title, she now wants to be a part of the continental mega event.

“Even though I am a world champion, smaller targets are steps towards bigger ones. I finished 12th in qualification before losing in the first round and we were seventh in the mixed team competition at Hyderabad. Even though I am a Para athlete, I consider myself no less than anybody else and saw this nationals as an opportunity,” Sheetal told The Indian Express. The event had some of the best compound archers in the world, such as world champions Ojas Deotale and Aditi Swami.

She also appeared in trials for the Junior Asia Cup, competing in 14 matches.

The odds are long, and recent rule changes make it an even more formidable challenge for the Kishtwar archer. Only the front part of the toe is allowed to touch the bow unlike earlier when the heel of the feet could.

Her medical condition – phocomelia – means she had underdeveloped limbs since birth and it’s only with the help of her feet and a specialised release device that she aims an arrow to the target. Post the Paris Games, her efforts to change her technique saw her lose the para nationals to Payal Nag.

“While my shooting was not going that well as we were working to shoot with the new technique, people would say, Sheetal kar nahi payegi, Sheetal gir gai hai (Sheetal will not be able to do, Sheetal has fallen to a low). I didn’t pay any heed to such talks. While I worked on my technique, I would also struggle with the pain in the heel due to the new technique. My shooting was also not accurate. But I told my coach that I will get past it. My physio Ayushi Tomer worked a lot on my strength,” remembers the teenager.

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Sheetal had been struggling with her qualification scores initially – in the 668-678 range – before she achieved her highest qualification score of 687 at World Para Championships at Gwangju. It still remains 16 points less than her best of 703, second-best para mark in the world, at the Paris Paralympics. She had competed in five individual matches at Gwangju. Then at Raipur, amongst able-bodied athletes, Sheetal shot a 692.

Sheetal Devi training at Punjabi University grounds at Patiala along with coach Gaurav Sharma and other trainees. (Express Photo by Harmeet Sodhi)

Formidable challenge

Sheetal’s coach Gaurav Sharma knows she has to strike a fine balance in training as she aims to compete and win medals in able-bodied events.

“It places higher demands on Sheetal’s body due to longer competition days, higher arrow counts, and shorter recovery windows between rounds. This can increase muscular fatigue, especially in the shoulder, back, and core, and have to be dealt with proper monitoring and structured training. We have increased emphasis on strength and endurance for the shoulder girdle and back muscles, improved core stability, and regular mobility work to maintain joint health along with physiotherapy sessions,” Sharma says.

“Her form at Hyderabad was encouraging and showed clear progress in terms of confidence, shot execution, and mental composure.”

Sheetal has been shooting 250-300 arrows per day during her training sessions in Patiala. In 2023, when she won the individual and mixed team titles apart from the doubles silver at the Asian Para Games, her shooting average at the international level was 9.43 with a 81 percent win record. In the subsequent calendar year, those figures were 9.55 and 63. This year, her shooting average at the international level has come down to 9.41 but the win percentage has improved to 70. But it was her impeccable shooting under pressure that helped her win the Para World Championship title.

Technically, her coach’s focus is on maintaining stability and consistency throughout the shot cycle, even when fatigue sets in or pressure increases.

“We are also working on improving her holding strength and aiming efficiency. As competition intensity rises at continental events like the Asian Games, the ability to settle quickly in the sight picture without over-holding becomes crucial. Additionally, we are working on optimising her overall shot rhythm and timing so that her technique remains smooth and economical across long qualification rounds and multiple match days,” says Sharma,

As for Sheetal, she knows what she has to do to achieve her goals.

“Mehnat, mehnat aur mehnat (Hard work, Hard work, hard work),” she signs off.