Perfect 10 shoot-off victory: Sheetal Devi headlines India’s dominant 15-medal haul at World Archery Para Series 2026
Ahmedabad: Sheetal Devi claimed gold in the women’s compound event as host nation India concluded Stage 3 of the World Archery Para Series 2026 in Ahmedabad with a total of 15 medals, comprising four gold, three silver, and eight bronze, on Wednesday.
The 19-year-old world champion defeated Kazakhstan’s Aizada Seidan in a high-stakes shoot-off after their gold medal match finished tied at 144-144. Sheetal shot a perfect 10 with her tie-breaking arrow against Seidan's 9 at the Sabarmati Riverfront venue to secure her career-first individual gold medal on the World Archery Para Series circuit.
The world No. 1 advanced through elimination rounds as top seed, having posted a season-best 698 in qualification, breaking her previous Asian record by one point. She beat Slovakia’s Liliana Lacova 147-142 in the round of 16, defeated Great Britain’s Jessica Stretton 145-142 in the quarter-finals, and overcame fellow Indian archer Sarita 145-143 in the semi-finals.
Sarita also earned a podium finish, defeating China’s Wang Huiting 141-140 in the bronze medal match.
Earlier in the tournament, Sheetal set a world record in the mixed team qualification alongside Paris 2024 Paralympic bronze medallist Rakesh Kumar. The Indian pair accumulated 1,400 points in the compound mixed team qualification, surpassing their previous world record of 1,399 set at the Paris 2024 Games by a single point.
Sheetal posted 698 points while Rakesh contributed 702 to establish the record mark.
Toman Kumar substituted for Rakesh Kumar during the compound mixed team elimination rounds to partner Sheetal. The pair captured the bronze medal Wednesday with a 157-145 victory over Iraq, having missed the gold medal match following a narrow semi-final shoot-off defeat to China after a 156-156 tie.
In the recurve mixed team event, Bhawna and Harvinder Singh earned another gold medal for India by defeating China’s Liang Qiurong and Xia Lei 6-0 in the final, recording set victories of 35-31, 36-33, and 34-32.
Bhawna added an individual bronze in the women’s recurve competition after defeating compatriot Rajshri Dhanraj Rathod 6-0.
Reigning compound men’s world champion Toman Kumar completed his individual performance with a bronze medal by defeating Iraq’s Abbas Kadhim 143-138. Toman had previously suffered a 146-144 semi-final loss to eventual champion Ken Swagumilang of Indonesia.
The final-day haul built on early successes. On Tuesday, Toman Kumar and Shyam Sunder Swami secured gold in the compound men’s doubles by defeating Iraq 152-139.
Paris 2024 Paralympic champion Harvinder Singh and Vijay Sundi also won gold in the recurve men’s doubles, defeating Slovakia 6-2.
Bhawna and Pooja claimed silver in the recurve women’s doubles, while Swati Chaudhary and Adil Mohamed Nazir Ansari finished as runners-up in the W1 mixed team event. The W1 category accommodates athletes with severe physical impairments who compete from wheelchairs using adapted equipment with either compound or recurve bows.
India added bronze medals in both W1 doubles events, with Adil Mohamed Nazir Ansari and Naveen Dalal taking third in the men’s category, while Swati Chaudhary and Vasundhra Teotia earned bronze in the women’s event. Swati captured a second bronze medal in the individual W1 women’s competition.
In the visually impaired category, Tanvi Pravin Ingale claimed silver, while Yugal Garg took home bronze.
Hosted in Ahmedabad from 5 to 9 September, the competition marked the inaugural staging of a World Archery Para Series event in India.
The complete list of Indian medal winners at the World Archery Para Series 2026 in Ahmedabad:
Gold
- Women’s individual compound: Sheetal Devi
- Men’s compound doubles: Toman Kumar, Shyam Sunder Swami
- Men’s recurve doubles: Harvinder Singh, Vijay Sundi
- Recurve mixed team: Bhawna, Harvinder Singh
Silver
- Women’s recurve doubles: Bhawna, Pooja
- W1 mixed team: Swati Chaudhary, Adil Mohamed Nazir Ansari
- Visually impaired: Tanvi Pravin Ingale
Bronze
- Women’s individual compound: Sarita
- Men’s individual compound: Toman Kumar
- Compound mixed team: Sheetal Devi, Toman Kumar
- Women’s individual recurve: Bhawna
- W1 women's individual: Swati Chaudhary
- W1 men’s doubles: Adil Mohamed Nazir Ansari, Naveen Dalal
- W1 women’s doubles: Swati Chaudhary, Vasundhra Teotia
- Visually impaired: Yugal Garg
ANI