Sheetal Devi Exclusive: 'Paralympics is the biggest event. Winning a medal for country is a matter of pride'

In an exclusive conversation with Firstpost’s Rupha Ramani, young Indian ‘armless’ archer Sheetal Devi recalled her successful campaign at the recently concluded 2024 Paris Paralympics, where she won a bronze medal in the mixed team compound open event. Sheetal’s story is one of the most inspiring stories to come out of the Paris Paralympics. She was born with a rare condition called phocomelia, which led her to be born without arms. As a result, Sheetal, only 17 years old, uses her feet to control her movements and release the arrow.

Sheetal said that winning a medal for the country is always a “matter of pride”. “Paris was really good. But with a medal around your neck, everything feels good. The Paralympics is the biggest event. Winning a medal for your country is always a matter of pride. I saw a lot of other competitors with much more disabilities playing and competing. This motivated me to push more. I saw athletes in wheelchairs and other disabilities competing,” She said on the First Sports show.

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‘Rakesh motivated me to not get scared’

While Sheetal narrowly missed out on a quarter-final berth in the women’s individual compound by just one point, she and Rakesh Kumar teamed up to win bronze in the mixed team event. The Indian duo beat Italy's Mateo Bonacina and Eleonora Sarti 156-155 in the bronze medal playoff.

Sheetal spoke on her bond with Rakesh and how he helped her to remain focussed during nervy moments. “Rakesh and I practice on one ground. We competed in the same category. We missed gold by just one point. I was a bit scared looking at the crowd. Rakesh motivated me to not be scared and focus on the game,” she added.

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The Jammu and Kashmir-born athlete won two gold medals and a silver at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou last year, and when asked if winning a medal at the Paralympics felt like a new experience, she said: “No, when I won a medal at the Asian Games, I was exposed to the media. And now since I have won the medal in Paralympics, the focus is more. So the period after the win is always busy.”

‘Got to know about the sport from my sister’

For Sheetal, her turning point in life was when she took up archery as a sport. It was her sister who introduced her to the sport. “Ever since I took up archery, everything has been good. The sport has changed my life for good. I took up the sport looking at someone else too, I got to know about the sport from my sister Preeti. Since I am from a small village, sports are never a focus. So ever since I got to know about sports I have been at my training centre. That fueled the fire inside me to do something,” she stated.

Her coach supported her in a big way and encouraged saying that she would win a medal for India. She got inspired by witnessing Rakesh Kumar, who is wheelchair-bound. “I saw fellow archer Rakesh shooting despite being in a wheelchair. That inspired me to take up the sport. Initially, I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it. I was the first girl to use my leg for archery. But my coach motivated me to continue pushing myself. My coach made me believe in myself and said you will win a medal for India,” Sheetal recalled.