Teenage quadruple amputee archer Payal Nag produced a stunning upset to defeat her world No. 1 decorated teammate Sheetal Devi and clinch the gold, headlining India’s dominant show at the World Archery Para Series here, where the country finished on top with an overwhelming seven gold medals.
The 18-year-old rising star won 139-136 in the compound women’s final, capping a memorable campaign as India signed off with 16 medals, including five silver and four bronze. This was Payal’s second win over Sheetal in little over a year, having defeated her at the Para Nationals in Jaipur in January 2025.
Payal, competing in only her second international event after making her debut at the Dubai 2025 Asian Youth Para Games, showed remarkable composure under pressure to get the better of her more decorated compatriot. She began strongly with a perfect 10, taking the opening end 27-25 before Sheetal fought back to level the contest.
Locked at 54-all after the second end, Payal raised her game in the third, shooting two 9s and a 10 to move ahead 82-80, and then sealed the contest with a clinical final end that included two 10s. A find of Sheetal’s childhood coach Kuldeep Vedwan, Payal's journey has been nothing short of extraordinary. The daughter of a migrant labourer from Odisha's Balangir district, she lost all four limbs after coming into contact with a live wire at a brick kiln in 2015. She trained alongside Sheetal at the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Sports Complex in Katra during 2023-24 before Sheetal shifted base to Sonepat.
Armless Sheetal has been India's most decorated para archer, having won two-Asian Para Games gold medals in 2022 and becoming India’s youngest Paralympic medallist with her mixed team bronze in Paris 2024.
Since making her national debut in 2025, Payal has rapidly risen through the ranks, including a win over Sheetal in Jaipur, a silver at the Khelo India Para Games and a bronze at the national championships earlier this year after finishing behind Sheetal in the qualifiers.
India’s gold rush also saw Toman Kumar and Bhawna emerge champions in their respective events. Toman defeated Australia’s Jonathon Milne 146-142 in the compound men’s final, while Bhawna outclassed Thailand’s Phattharaphon Pattawaeo 6-0 in the recurve women’s summit clash.
Double Paralympic medallist Harvinder Singh had to settle for silver after going down 3-7 to Indonesia’s Kholidin in the recurve final, while Swati Chaudhary also claimed a silver, losing 3-7 to Ok Geum Kim of South Korea in the W1 women’s gold medal match.
Earlier, Shyam Sunder Swami secured a bronze after edging past compatriot and Paris Paralympic bronze medallist Rakesh Kumar in a closely-fought playoff in the compound men’s individual event. In the W1 women’s individual event, Anjum Tanwar also finished fourth after going down 2-6 in her bronze medal match against an opponent from the Republic of Korea.
Also read: Don’t let anyone define your limits: Sheetal Devi
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