Para archer Sheetal Devi achieved another significant milestone on November 6. She secured a spot in India's able-bodied junior team for the upcoming Asia Cup Stage-3, to be held in Jeddah. This selection marks another historic achievement for World Compound Champion Sheetal.
SPORTS NEWS: Young Paralympic archer Sheetal Devi from Jammu and Kashmir achieved another major milestone on November 6, 2025. She has been included in India's able-bodied junior team for the upcoming Asia Cup Stage 3. Her selection for this international tournament in Jeddah symbolizes her consistently outstanding performance in the world of Indian archery.
On this occasion, Sheetal Devi shared her experiences on social media. She wrote that when she started archery, her small dream was to one day compete at the international level alongside able-bodied archers. Initially, she faced setbacks multiple times, but she continued to move forward, learning from every experience. Now, her dream is gradually drawing closer to reality.
Excellent Performance in National Selection Trials
Sheetal Devi secured third place in the four-day national selection trials held in Sonepat. More than 60 able-bodied archers from across the country participated in this trial. In the qualification round, Sheetal scored a total of 703 points (352 in the first round and 351 in the second round). This score was equal to the total points of top qualifier Tejal Salve.
In the final rankings, Tejal Salve (15.75 points) and Vaidehi Jadhav (15 points) secured first and second places respectively, while Sheetal registered third place with 11.75 points. She narrowly edged past Dnyaneshwari Gadadhe of Maharashtra by a mere 0.25 points. Sheetal Devi recently brought glory to India by winning a bronze medal in the mixed team compound event at the Paris Paralympics 2024. She drew inspiration from Turkish Paralympic champion Öznur Cüre Girdi, who also competes in world-level able-bodied archery competitions.
This achievement by 18-year-old Sheetal demonstrates that young athletes can deliver outstanding performances in world-class competitions with hard work and dedication.
Asia Cup 2025: Indian Team Lineup
- Compound Team (Men and Women)
- Men: Pradyumna Yadav, Vasu Yadav, Devansh Singh (Rajasthan)
- Women: Tejal Salve, Vaidehi Jadhav (Maharashtra), Sheetal Devi (Jammu and Kashmir)
- Recurve Team
- Men: Rampal Chaudhary (AAI), Rohit Kumar (Uttar Pradesh), Mayank Kumar (Haryana)
- Women: Kondapavuluri Yukta Sri (Andhra Pradesh), Vaishnavi Kulkarni (Maharashtra), Kritika Bichpuriya (Madhya Pradesh)
This team will represent the country in the upcoming Asia Cup and further solidify India's b position at the international level.
