Indian para athletes choose ability over disability to win

Indian athletes won a record haul of 111 medals at the 2022 Asian Para Games.This is how they did it

- Deepti Patwardhan

The first step is picking up the arrow between her toes and deftly weaving it into the compound bow. Sheetal Devi then lifts the T bow with her right foot, hooks the arrow into a contraption around her shoulder, stretches back, straightens the right leg, steadies the bow using her leg and core strength, takes aim and snaps back as she releases the arrow. More often than not, she hits the mark. The only armless archer in the field at the deferred 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, Devi is one of a kind. She uses her legs, feet and shoulders to handle the bow and arrow, making the improbable look effortless.

And she took up archery just over a year ago. Devi, who hails from Loidhar-avillage, in Kishtwar district of Jammu, was born with phocomelia-a condition in which limbs are underdeveloped. In July this year, she won a silver medal in Women's Individual Compound-Open category to become the first armless woman to win a medal at the World Para Archery Championships. Building on that success, the 16-year-old claimed three medals in Hangzhou: women's individual gold, mixed team gold with Rakesh Kumar and women's team silver with Sarita.

Ability over disability. That's what Indian athletes proved yet again as they bagged a record haul at the Asian Para Games 2022. Just like their able-bodied peers a month ago, Indian para-athletes went past a century of medals at the continental event for the very first time. They claimed a total of 111 medals-29 gold, 31 silver and 51 bronze-to smash the previous record of 72 medals at the 2018 Asian Games. India finished fifth in the rankings, the first time in the top five.