Reigning Paralympic champion Harvinder Singh and world No. 1 Sheetal Devi led India’s impressive finish at the World Archery Para Series Stage III, with the contingent claiming two gold and four bronze medals on the final day on Wednesday. Sheetal, the reigning world champion, held her nerve in a dramatic shoot-off to capture the para compound women’s individual title, while double Paralympic medallist Harvinder combined with Bhawna to win the para recurve mixed team gold. Harvinder and Bhawna dominated China’s Liang Qiurong and Xia Lei 6-0 in the final, winning the three sets 35-31, 36-33 and 34-32. Bhawna subsequently added an individual bronze after defeating compatriot Rajshree Rathod 6-0 in the para recurve women’s third-place play-off.
Sheetal holds nerve
Sheetal produced one of India’s standout performances in the evening session, edging Kazakhstan’s Aizada Seidan in a tense compound women’s individual final. Both archers opened with perfect 30s and remained level at 59 after two ends. Seidan moved one point ahead after the third before the fourth ended 29-29. Needing to respond in the final end, Sheetal shot 29 against Seidan’s 28 to level the contest at 144-all and force a shoot-off. The Indian then delivered a perfect 10 under pressure, while Seidan managed nine, sealing the gold.
Toman completes medal double
The victory completed a medal double for Sheetal, who had earlier partnered Toman Kumar to claim bronze in the compound mixed team event. The Indian pair comfortably defeated Iraq’s Sara Al Hamid and Abbas Kadim 157-145, dropping only three points across four ends. They registered 39 in each of the opening three ends before finishing with a perfect 40. India added two more individual bronze medals, with Sarita edging China’s Wang Huiting 141-140 in the para compound women’s contest and world No. 1 Toman defeating Iraq’s Abbas Kadhim 143-138 in the men’s event. The result handed Toman his second medal of the competition and rounded off India’s six-medal haul.