New Delhi, Oct 21: It was a day of high drama in the archery lanes. Two Indian archers, Sheetal Devi and Swati Chaudhary, punched their tickets to the finals at the Asian Para Games 2026, guaranteeing the nation at least two medals. The duo’s performances were crisp, decisive, and historic.
Sheetal Devi, the 19-year-old from Jammu and Kashmir who shoots with her feet, continued her record-breaking campaign. The defending champion defeated Japan’s Shinohara Aya 145-137 in the women’s compound semifinal. It was a dominant run for Sheetal, who had already equalled the world record and set a new Asian record during qualification. She now eyes a second consecutive gold against Singapore’s Alim Nur Syahidah.
Meanwhile, Swati Chaudhary made her continental debut count. The young archer beat South Korea’s Lee Eunhee 6-2 in the women’s W1 semifinal to book her place in the gold-medal clash. Swati will face China’s Mengkan in the final. For both Sheetal and Swati, the pressure is on, but the floor is raised: silver is already in the bag.
India’s team events also progressed. Paralympic gold medallist Harvinder Singh and Bhawna crushed Thailand 6-0 in the recurve mixed team quarterfinals. In the compound mixed team event, Sheetal and Toman Kumar defeated Japan 154-147. However, the day wasn’t all smiles. Harvinder lost 5-6 in a shoot-off to China’s Yun Duo, and Bhawna fell 2-6 to Mongolia’s Selengee Demberel. Toman Kumar also lost 144-149 to China’s Ai Xinliang in the men’s compound semifinal, dropping to the bronze medal match.
The archery competition heats up as India looks to convert momentum into top-podium finishes. The gold-medal matches for Sheetal and Swati are scheduled for October 22.