Who is Sheetal Devi, the armless archer aiming for gold at the 2024 Paris Paralympics?

The Paralympics have begun in Paris and there are many champions chasing a medal. Among them, Sheetal Devi, a girl of just 17 years old, but with clear ideas and a lot of willpower. Sheetal is an archer and will do her best to try to bring home the gold medal. Born in the Indian district of Jammu, on the border with Pakistan, this athlete To shoot his arrows he uses his right leg, one shoulder and his mouth. Sheetal, in fact, does not have arms due to phocomelia, a congenital malformation of the limbs.

His passion has always been archery and so, by trying solutions, she reached her goal. Over the years, some coaches had advised Sheetal Devi to use prosthetics, but the young Indian was never convinced that this was the right path to follow.

Then, one day, here comes the perfect example. Matt Stutzman, an archer without arms, wins the silver medal at the 2012 Paris Paralympics doing his job only with his legs.

From that moment on, many trainings and tests, willpower and tenacity. And the results arrive. Sheetal improves so much that she wins the silver in the last edition of the Paralympic World Championships held in the Czech Republic in July 2023.

“It’s incredible, when I think about the past and the path I took to get here. At first I thought it was impossible, when I trained my legs hurt a lot. Now my dream can come true. I’ve always thought that the best would be to win an Olympic gold. I want to climb to the top step of the podium».

Meanwhile, the Paralympic Committee has nominated her «Young Athlete of the Year 2023» and the Indian government has awarded her the Arjuna Award for outstanding sporting achievements. “Sheetal didn’t choose archery, archery chose her,” says Abhilasha Chaudhary, one of her two coaches. “I don’t think anyone has any limits,” says Sheetal Devi, “it’s just a matter of wanting something with all your heart and putting in the effort. If I can do it, anyone can do it.”