 "Indian para-archer Payal Nag poses with the silver medal that she won at the Khelo India Para Games in New Delhi. Image credit: X/@paralympic_od")
Sheetal Devi had become a household name during the Paralympic Games in Paris last year, in which she competed as the only armless archer and had fallen just one point short of a world record in the women’s individual compound event before winning mixed team bronze with Rakesh Kumar .
In the ongoing Khelo India Para-Games in New Delhi, the nation appears to have discovered another star para-archer in the making in Payal Nag, who found herself fighting for gold against Sheetal in the final of the women’s compound archery open event. Payal would later win silver following Sheetal’s 137-129 in the gold medal match.
Who is Payal Nag, India’s para-archery star in the making?
Sheetal had overcome the loss of her arms due to the congenital disease phocomelia by shooting with her feet, having been inspired by American para-archer Matt Stutzman. Payal, on the other hand, has had to conquer an additional hindrance – the absence of legs.
Payal, who hails from Odisha’s Balangir district and comes from a family of modest means, had lost her arms and limbs at the age of five after coming in contact with an 11,000-volt power line in 2015. Four years after the incident, she was placed under the care of Parvatigiri Balniketan, an orphanage in Balangir with the help of the District Collector, according to news agency ANI.
The tragic incident, however, did not deter her spirit. Before getting introduced to para-archery, Payal exhibited her artistic skills by drawing pictures with her mouth. And it was her sketches and paintings that caught the attention of Kuldeep Vedwan, who runs the Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board Archery Academy in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir and also happens to be Sheetal’s coach.
“I used to draw with my mouth before. I could draw anyone’s face by looking at them. One of my pictures went viral on social media. My guru (coach Kuldeep) also saw this, and then came to me at my orphanage and brought me to Jammu,” Payal told SAI Media during the Khelo India Para Games in New Delhi.
Vedwan would later procure a special prosthetic device for her to shoot arrows with, marking the beginning of Payal’s journey as a para-archer. Three years after arriving in Jammu by train, Payal finds herself going toe-to-toe with Sheetal ‘didi’, whom she had defeated in the para-archery nationals in January.
After making heads turn at Khelo India, Payal will have her sights fixed on winning medals for her country in Asian and global events.
“My dream is to win a gold medal for the country. If I can come from an orphanage in Balangir, Odisha and defeat Sheetal didi, then my goal can be nothing less than winning gold for the country,” she said.