Like any other girl of her age Sheetal Devi wanted to dress up beautifully and hear the jangle of the bangle, matching her outfit.
But that was not to be because of cruel twist of fate which left her arm-less at birth.
ICC World Cup: Schedule | Results | Points Table | Most Runs | Most Wickets
The Jammu girl went to a clinic in Bengaluru to fix prosthetic arms but she never underwent the procedure.
Being the woman with gold fingers wasn’t an option but with fierce determination, Sheetal became the ‘Lady with Golden feet”, winning the women’s individual compound archery event at the Para-Asian Games in Hangzhou on Thursday.
Instead of bangles, she now takes immense pride in adorning herself with gold medals — and inspire fellow Indians.
“These medals mean so much, and look much better than the bangles,” she told PTI from Hangzhou.
“I hope these will inspire many others (differently-abled) athletes to take up sport and win medals for the country.”
The 16-year-old, who is first armless female armless archer to compete Internationally, on Friday won her second yellow metal at the Hangzhou event by emerging champion in the women’s individual compound event.
Sheetal has also won the compound mixed team gold partnering Rakesh Kumar and a silver in the women’s doubles along with Sarita.
Showing unwavering composure, Sheetal overcame her deficit in the first three ends to defeat Singapore’s Alim Nur Syahidah 144-142.
She needed almost perfect shots in the last two ends, as Sheetal shot 10s in her next six shots to take the gold and seal her third medal from the Games.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi too has acknowledged Sheetal’s extraordinary feat.
“Proud of Sheetal Devi on her extraordinary Gold Medal in Archery Women’s Individual Compound open event at the Asian Para Games. This achievement is a testament to her grit and determination,” Modi wrote on his official X handle.
Coach’s arrest just before Games
In 2021, Sheetal, all of 14, had no clue about archery.
Born with a condition called Phocomelia, a rare congenital deformity in which the hands or feet are underdeveloped, Sheetal showed athleticism during a sports event organised by the Indian Army.
A Bengaluru-based NGO ‘Being You’, then got in touch with her in April 2021 and brought her to the city where Sheetal met Preethi Rai the co-founder of the organisation.
Sheetal told Preethi there that she used to climb trees as the co-founder of the organisation conducted several tests and got convinced that she has it in her to become a sportsperson.
Seeing her core strength in her lower body, Preethi decided that she could become an archer as she got in touch with Kuldeep Vedwan, a para archery coach, based out of Katra in Jammu.
Sheetal’s journey then began under the husband-wife duo of Kuldeep and Abhilasha Chaudhary at the Shree Mata Vaishno Devi Academy.
“It’s because of Kuldeep Sir, Abhilasha Ma’am and Preethi Ma’am that I’m here,” Sheetal said.
“I miss sir a lot today, he toiled hard a lot with me to bring me here,” she said about Kuldeep, who was arrested ahead of the team’s departure to Hangzhou on sexual harassment charges.
“He (Kuldeep) was removed from the team’s roster after his arrest. He’s being charged under POCSO Act and the matter is in court now,” Archery Association of India secretary general Pramod Chandurkar told PTI.
“But Kuldeep’s role in Sheetal’s success cannot be overlooked,” Chandurkar added.
Taking a cue from famous armless archer Matt Stutzman, a silver medalist at the London 2012 Paralympics, Kuldeep was convinced that Sheetal can also follow the suit.
As these types of cases are extremely rare, Kuldeep had to make a customised ‘releaser’ that can be drawn from her mouth.
So, Sheetal had to make herself a perfectionist in holding the 27.5kg bow steadily and shoot.
Sheetal has to carry the bow with her right leg and release the arrow from her mouth with help of the customised device.
“Kuldeep has made a vast research before narrowing down on the device for Sheetal. It’s just perfect for her. He has been like a pillar for her,” Kuldeep’s wife Abhilasha, who was drafted in as the coach in Hangzhou, told PTI.
Kuldeep also made Sheetal compete with able-bodied archers at the Under-18 National Championships in Gujarat to bolster her mental strength. She also did not disappoint and returned with medals.
Her International journey began in Czech Republic where she won silver at the European Para Archery Cup held across the country in Nove Mesto in May.
Sheetal then continued her success at the World Para Archery Championships in Pilsen where she won a silver medal after losing to Oznur Cure of Turkey in the final.
She also met Stutzman, who also helped her to perfect the technique.
“Matt was the first armless archer, and it was the first time I met him. I was very excited,” Sheetal told World Archery.
But Sheetal’s journey has only just begun; there are more medals waiting to adorn her neck.
“Paris is next. We hope she wins a medal at the 2024 Paralympics,” Abhilasha signed off.
Comments
0 comment