Asian Para Games 2023: Sheetal aims for gold with the help of mouth and feet, the first woman archer without hands wins medal

India’s daughter has done wonders in the ongoing Asian Para Games 2023 in Hangzhou. In fact, 16 year old Shital Devi of Loidhar village of Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir is the first female archer with broken hands to compete at the international level. Sheetal has won two medals in archery for the country this week.

Without hands, Sheetal has done this miracle with the help of mouth and feet. She holds and balances the 27.5 kg bow with her right foot. Using a manual releaser attached to her right shoulder, she pulls back the string and uses a trigger held in her mouth to engage the target 50 meters away. During this, she keeps herself straight on the seat with her left leg the entire time.

Sheetal Devi Wins First 🥇 of the Day for 🇮🇳

🏹 The Phenomenal Archer delivers a scintillating performance, clinching the coveted GOLD in Women’s Individual Compound Open event, defeating Alim Nur Syahidah from Singapore in a breathtaking match!

🥇 Sheetal’s victory fills our… pic.twitter.com/dehBoXvbSZ

— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) October 27, 2023

Sheetal, born with phocomelia, has never been afraid of any difficulty in her life. Actually, phocomelia is a disorder due to which organs are underdeveloped. Sheetal told The Indian Express on Thursday that, initially I could not even lift the bow properly, but after a few months of effort it became easy.

In Hangzhou, Sheetal, partnering with Sarita, won the silver medal in the women’s team and won the gold medal in the mixed team with Rakesh Kumar.