Odisha’s Archery Stars Capture Silver at Asian Para Games
Nagoya/Bhubaneswar: The talented archers from Odisha, Payal Nag and her teammate Sheetal Devi, secured a silver medal in the women’s compound doubles event at the Asian Para Games held in Nagoya on Wednesday, following a defeat in the final match.
The duo faced off against China’s Xu Xueqing and Zhao Jing, ultimately losing 141-150. Despite their efforts, the Indian pair struggled to keep up with their opponents after the initial end, trailing for the rest of the competition.
Sheetal, a bronze medalist from the Paris Paralympics, demonstrated remarkable consistency by scoring four 10s. However, Payal, who was making her debut at the Asian Games, fell short of matching her partner’s precision, finishing with scores of 9s and 8s, culminating in a 7 on her last arrow.
This marks Sheetal’s second consecutive silver in this event, as she previously finished as runner-up alongside Sarita Devi. She is also vying for gold in the individual competition.
Hailing from Loidhar village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, Sheetal was born with phocomelia, a rare condition that resulted in underdeveloped arms.
Payal’s journey took a tragic turn at the age of eight when she suffered a life-changing accident involving an 11,000-volt power line, leading to the amputation of all four limbs.
Earlier this year, Payal gained recognition when she unexpectedly defeated Sheetal to claim gold at the World Archery Para Series in Bangkok.
In another event, Indian archers Toman Kumar and Shyam Sunder Swami narrowly missed out on a bronze medal in the men’s compound doubles, losing 153-154 to China’s Ai Xinliang and Zhang Yicheng.
Kumar has a permanent physical disability due to the amputation of his left leg, while Swami faces locomotor challenges that affect his lower limb mobility.