Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar won bronze in the mixed compound archery event at the Paris Paralympics 2024 in a remarkable run where they equalled the Paralympic record in the bronze medal match.
Sheetal, the only female armless archer at the Games, has become a worldwide sensation on Paralympics debut and this medal is yet another testament to her rapid rise, while for Rakesh Kumar this is reward for years of sustained quality performances at international level.
The bronze itself was won in dramatic fashion, beating Italy's Eleonara Sarti and Matteo Bonacina 156-155 in a stunning match where the Indians had to come from behind, hold their nerves and shoot four tens out of four arrows in the final set. They had gone into the set trailing 116-117.
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It's this that makes a medal in this event so special: compound archery in the Paralympics is a true test of consistency. Unlike the Olympics where you can recover from a poor arrow or three (or even more) since you can win set points later, the Paralympics counts each arrow in your final score. To win, you have to be truly on the mark from arrow 0 to arrow 16 (in the case of the mixed team). As a sporting achievement a medal in this event is up there with any other.
Sheetal and Rakesh were remarkably consistent at the outset. They ran away with the quarterfinal against Indonesia's Teodara Ferelly and Ken Swagumilang, their dominance so telling that they won with an arrow to spare. 154-143 the score read, and Sheetal wouldn't even have needed to make a mark with her last arrow to win (she hit a 10, dead centre, of course).
They then lost a close, tight semifinal on shootoff to Iran after individual silver medalist Fartemeh Hemmati hit an arrow 1.1mm from dead centre. While young Sheetal wavered a bit in the semi, with a rare 7 allowing Iran to get back into the match, Rakesh hit 8 10s out of 9 (including the shootoff). The narrow loss prevented them from entering the final, but the bronze medal playoff was a chance to come away with some silverware and they did exactly that, holding their nerve to win a high-quality, high-tension match.
What makes it truly remarkable is that it's been quite the journey for the two to get here.
Sheetal, 17, was diagnosed with a rare medical condition called phocomelia, Sheetal was born with severely underdeveloped arms. That didn't stop the Kashmir native from growing up a confident child, an attribute that was noticed quickly at an army organized youth event. Coaches Abhilasha Chaudhary and Kuldeep Wadhwan took notice, and the army took charge of her training. At first, they tried prosthetics, but that was a no-go since they could not be attached. Devi, though, stunner her coaches with the revelation that she was strong enough to hold a bow by her legs and use her upper body to release the arrow - a feat that requires considerable physical power.
Developed through years of climbing trees (not having arms wasn't ever going to stop her from doing what she wanted to do), her upper body strength was tapped into - and using research learnt from Matt Stutzman (the OG armless archer, and Paris Paralympics individual champion), they went at it. Within a year, Sheetal was a double Asian Para Games gold medalist, and within another year, a Paralympic bronze medalist. Incredible doesn't quite cover it.
Rakesh, 39, meanwhile went through a very different trajectory. A statemate of Sheetal's he suffered a debilitating spinal cord injury that left him in a wheelchair. Depressed at his physical state and the fact that he was putting too much stress on his parents and younger brother (especially financial), he even considered taking his own life. "I was just getting on my feet, had started earning enough to take care of my family. But the accident turned my world upside down. At an age when I had to take care of my old parents, they had to take care of me. I had become a huge financial burden on my parents and younger brother," Kumar told ANI a few years back. "The condition was so bad that I thought of taking my life, but then I decided to keep myself busy and opened a mobile recharge shop in Katra [Jammu]"
It was there that he was spotted by coach Wadhwan, who asked him if he wanted to try archery considering his upper body looked remarkably strong. This is an observation that is now backed by a simple glance at the man - with a barrel-like chest, massive shoulders and thick-as-log forearms, Rakesh looks a considerable force.
Now, he sits tall in his wheelchair as a legend of Indian Paralympics, with a world championship gold, an Asian Para Games gold and two Asian Para Games silvers... and a Paralympics bronze.
This is India's second medal in archery in the history of the Paralympic Games, and it was their sixth on a remarkable day for Indian sport, but even in that, there was something truly special about this bronze.