Adding to her expanding list of firsts, prodigious Indian para archer Sheetal Devi won the Best Youth Athlete Of The Year honour at the Asian Awards 2023 in Riyadh on Saturday, November 25. The 16-year-old became the first Indian athlete ever to win the laurel. (Sports News)
According to World Para Archery, Sheetal is the world's first female archer to compete internationally without arms. She is not just competing, however. The teenager is winning medals at major events in a dream debut season.
Sheetal won the the silver medal at the World Para Archery Championships in Pilsen in the Czech Republic earlier this year, and followed it up with three medals at the Asian Para Games 2023 in Hangzhou that catapulted her to national attention. Her tally included two gold medals, which made her the first Indian woman to win two gold in a single edition of the Asian Para Games.
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ALSO READ: Who Is Sheetal Devi?
The girl from Jammu and Kashmir was born with phocomelia, a rare congenital disorder that causes under-developed limbs. A native of Loidhar village in Kishtwar, Sheetal's talent was discovered at a youth event organised by the Indian Army in Kishtwar in 2021. She caught the attention of the scouts there because of her athleticism.
What makes Sheetal unique is the fact that she shoots with the help of her legs. USA's legendary para archer Matt Stutzman used a similar technique.
