World’s First Armless Archer From India

Sheetal Devi, a 16-year-old girl from Jammu and Kashmir recently became the World’s First Armless Archer. She was born with a rare medical condition called rare Phocomelia, which caused her to be born without both hands. Sheetal Devi is a resident of a Loi-Dhar village, which falls under the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. 

In 2019, Sheetal Devi participated in a youth event at Mughal Maidan, where she was noticed by the Rashtriya Riffles unit of the Indian Army. Looking at her skills and determination, they took her under their care and started providing for her medically and educationally. 

She trained under Kuldeep Baidwan, the National Coach of Archery (Paralympics). Over the years, she participated in national archery competitions which further honed her skills. This year, she took part in the Para-Archery World Championship 2023, which was held at Pilsen in the Czech Republic. The championship started on July 17 and came to an end on July 23. Apart from Sheetal Devi, there were two other specially-abled (people with physical or mental impairment) archers in the championship. Sheetal made everyone proud when she won a Silver medal at the Para-Archery World Championship 2023.