HISTORIC! Sheetal Devi becomes first Indian archer to win World Archery award!
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World Championship silver medallist and Para Asian Games gold medallist Sheetal Devi has been awarded the title of "Best Female Para Archer of the Year" at the World Archery Awards on Friday. The 16-year-old girl from Jammu and Kashmir became the first Indian archer to achieve this milestone.
The winners of the division categories were decided by a weighted public, institutional, and press vote, which opened in mid-November and ran for one month. More than 750,000 votes were cast.
Sheetal Devi was born in 2007 with phocomelia, a rare congenital disorder leading to underdeveloped limbs. The condition resulted in her arms not fully forming.
The BEST PARA ARCHERS of 2023!
— World Archery (@worldarchery) December 29, 2023
(Voted by you.)
OVERALL, BREAKTHROUGH and COACH awards will be announced during the Indoor Archery World Series Finals on February 3 in 👉 https://t.co/7yEqhbrYJM#ArcheryAwards #Archery pic.twitter.com/KUowMOwbb5
But her achievements in 2023 speaks highly of her determination and grit that has left the world in surprise after just one season.
Sheetal Devi claimed a silver medal in the open women’s compound archery event at the World Archery Para Championships 2023 in the Czech Republic in July. She was the first female armless archer to win a medal at the Para World Championships. The medal also helped Sheetal obtain a quota for India for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Sheetal Devi’s stellar debut season continued at the Asian Para Games 2023 in October. She bagged gold medals in the individual compound and mixed team events apart from winning the silver medal in the women’s doubles competition.
What makes Sheetal Devi’s achievements all the more astonishing is that she is the only active female international archer to shoot without arms.