After Worlds glory, Sheetal eyeing Paralympic success

The victory made the 18-year-old the first ever armless woman archer to earn gold at the World Para Archery C'ships

- Shahid Judge

On his return from South Korea, archery coach Gaurav Sharma had an unusual addition to his to-do list. He needs to purchase a pair of premium sunglasses, but not for himself.

Ahead of the World Para Archery Championships in Gwangju, which concluded last weekend, Sharma had promised his ward Sheetal Devi that he would buy her a pair of sunglasses if she won a medal.

At the Gwangju International Archery Centre on Saturday, Sheetal took on defending champion Oznur Cure of Turkey in the final of the women's individual compound event, and won gold.

The triumph made the 18-year-old from Loidhar, a village in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, the first-ever armless woman archer to win the World Para Championships gold.

"It was an unexpected feeling," Sharma said, as he recalled the moments immediately after the win. "We were laughing, we were crying. The first thing she said was 'sir, humne kar diya. (I did it)'."

It did help that Sheetal had some momentum going into the match, as she had already won a silver medal in the women's team competition and bronze in the mixed event. This was also not the first time she was competing in the individual final at the Worlds.