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The Indian pair of Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar made a brilliant comeback after a semifinal loss to beat Eleonora Sarti and Matteo Bonacina of Italy 156-155 to win the bronze medal in the mixed team compound archery competition at the Paralympics on Monday. This is only the second time India has won a medal in archery at the Paralympics. Harvinder Singh had won the individual bronze at the Tokyo edition of the Games three years ago. Sheetal also became the first Indian woman to win an archery medal at the quadrennial showpiece while coach Kuldeep Vedhwan celebrated on the stands.
India won the final after 17-year-old Shital upgraded her shot from 9 to 10. A similar scenario had happened in the semifinal against Iran in the evening but the Indians lost on that occasion.
The Indians shot 10, 9, 10 10 in the final end and reached 155. The Italian pair replied with 9, 9, 10, 10 and tied at 155-155. This was when the judge decided to take a closer look at Sheetal’s shot and concluded that it was a 10, giving India the win.
Teamwork and perseverance win!
Rakesh Kumar and Shital Devi, your bronze medal in Para Archery Mixed Team Compound Open #Paralympics2024 This shows your hard work and dedication.
Your journey together has been inspiring, showing that mutual support and… pic.twitter.com/EFut4er5jk— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) September 2, 2024
Earlier, with just four arrows left, the Indian pair was trailing by one point, with Sarti performing brilliantly while his partner Bonacina faced some trouble. But the Indian pair eventually won.
It was a brilliant comeback by the Indians after losing in the shoot-off following a dramatic semifinal clash against Iran’s Fatemeh Hemmati and Hadi Nori.
Both Rakesh and Shital failed to win a medal in the individual event at this year’s Olympic Games.
Earlier in the evening, the Indian team looked set to qualify for the final but a brilliant rally by Iran and a score revision by the judges came in the way.
The match went into a shoot-off after the scores were tied at 152-152.
The Indians looked to have sealed the win after the Iranians scored nine points with their fourth arrow in the final end. However, the Indian pair was disappointed when the target judge revised Iran’s nine points (their second arrow in the final end) to 10 points after evaluation, forcing the contest into a shoot-off.
In the shoot-off, both teams had equal scores, but Fatima’s arrow hit the target very close. Her shot was very close to the target, which cleared the way for Iran to reach the final.
In their last-eight match, the Indian pair performed well and entered the semi-finals after defeating Indonesia’s Teodora Audi Ayudia Ferelin and Ken Swagumilang 154-143.
In the mixed compound open event, top seeded Shital and Rakesh performed brilliantly to reach the semi-finals.
The Iranian pair defeated Brazil’s Jane Carla Gogel and Reinaldo Wagner Charao Ferreira 153-151 in the quarterfinal match.
The Indians sealed the win with a perfect 40 in the fourth and final round.
In the open category (compound bow, for archers with less arm strength), archers shoot from a seated position at a distance of 50 metres at an 80 cm five-ring target made of 10-6 point bands.
Shital, 17, was born in 2007 with a rare congenital disorder called phocomelia, which leaves her limbs underdeveloped. The condition also caused her hands to not develop fully.
Rakesh, 39, had suffered a spinal cord injury and after recovering in 2009, he realised that he would now have to remain in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, which drove him into depression and he even contemplated suicide.
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