India’s Sheetal Devi and Toman Kumar clinched gold in the compound mixed team event, while Swati Chaudhary scripted history by winning the country’s first-ever medal in the W1 category at the Asian Para Games archery competition on Thursday.
Sheetal and Toman defeated Indonesia’s Teodora Audi Ayudia Ferelly and Ken Swagumilang 151-148 in the final to secure India’s first archery gold at the ongoing Games.
The Indian pair, both reigning world champions in their respective individual categories, had also set a world record in the qualification round, surpassing the previous mark by two points.
India took an early lead, scoring 38 against Indonesia’s 37 in the opening end before extending the advantage to 77-73 in the second. The Indonesian pair narrowed the gap in the third end, but the Indians maintained their three-point lead to seal the title.
The victory marked Sheetal’s second consecutive Asian Para Games gold in the mixed team event. She had won the title alongside Rakesh Kumar at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
The Indian duo had faced a tough semifinal against Chinese Taipei, where Toman’s final arrow missed the scoring zone. However, they held on to win 142-141 against Lee Yun-Hsien and Yang Jyun-Kai.
Born without arms, Sheetal uses her feet and legs to position the compound bow and her shoulder and jaw to draw and release the string. Her accuracy proved crucial in the semifinal, keeping India in contention despite Toman’s missed shot.
Toman, a 31-year-old CRPF constable and former CoBRA commando from Chhattisgarh, took up para archery after losing his left leg in an improvised explosive device blast during an anti-Maoist operation in Jharkhand’s Lohardaga district in February 2022. He went on to become world champion in 2025 and reach the top of the world rankings in men’s compound archery.
Swati Chaudhary wins historic W1 silver
Earlier, Swati Chaudhary secured India’s first-ever medal in the W1 category, winning silver in the women’s individual event after losing 4-6 to China’s Cen Mengkan in the final.
The top-seeded Indian took an early 4-2 lead but could not maintain her advantage against the Chinese archer.
Swati won the opening set 25-17, while Cen took the second 22-21 to level the contest at 2-2. The Indian regained the lead by narrowly winning the third set 22-21.
However, Cen staged a comeback in the fourth set, scoring 30 points against Swati’s 20, including three perfect 10s, to level the match at 4-4. The Chinese archer then secured the deciding set 28-21 to claim the gold medal.
Swati had won bronze at the World Archery Para Series in Ahmedabad last month.
The W1 category is for archers with significant impairments affecting both their upper and lower limbs. Swati’s silver marks a milestone for India in the category at the Asian Para Games.
-PTI
