Paris Paralympics 2024: Sheetal Devi narrowly misses World Record, secures second rank in Ranking Round

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India's armless archer Sheetal Devi scripted history despite missing the World Record by just one point in the women's compound ranking round at the Paris Paralympics 2024 on Thursday, August 29.

With a total score of 703 (Personal Best), she secured the second position. Notably, the ranking rounds are used to seed athletes, teams, and mixed teams for the upcoming competitions at the Paris Paralympics 2024.

Devi - the 17-year-old - also got past the ranking round world record of 698 set by Phoebe Pine Paterson of Great Britain earlier this month, but the Turkish archer overtook her to claim the coveted mark.

On the other hand, Sarita, the other Indian archer in the compound ranking round, settled for the ninth rank with a score of 682. While Sheetal shot 25 Xs, Sarita managed only 15 in her 72 shots. X represents the innermost gold ring on a target in archery. It is also known as the 'X ring' or 'inner 10' ring.

Turkey's Oznur Cure Girdi shattered the World Record, accumulating a total score of 704 with 29 Xs. Iran's Fatemeh Hemmati settled for the third rank with a total score of 696, her personal best.

The Paris Paralympics 2024 Archery knockout rounds will commence on Friday, August 30. Devi will face the winner of the round of 32 match between Mariana Zuniga of Chile and Choi Na Mi of Korea, who finished 15th and 18th respectively in the ranking round. Zuniga had won a silver in the women's individual compound open in the Tokyo Paralympics.

Sheetal Devi's career and achievements

It's worth noting that Sheetal Devi is the first and only international para-archery champion without upper limbs. She qualified for her maiden Paralympics in Paris after securing a silver medal at the World Archery Para Championships 2023 in the Czech Republic.

She secured a gold medal each at the Asian Para Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China in the individual compound and mixed team events. Subsequently, she went on to clinch a silver medal in the women's doubles event.

Furthermore, she went on to secure the No. 1 rank in the World Para Archery Compound rankings. At the Khelo Para Games 2023, she bagged another gold medal in the open category in New Delhi.

In the same year, she was conferred with the Best Youth Athlete of the Year award by the Asian Paralympic Committee. Additionally, the Government of India awarded the para archer with the Arjuna Award.

Earlier in 2024, she bagged a silver medal at the Khelo India NTPC National Ranking Archery Meet. Later, she secured a gold medal in the women's compound team event in the Para Archery Ranking Series in Czechia.