Sheetal Devi scripted history at the ongoing Paralympics 2024, clinching bronze medal in the mixed team compound archery event, alongwith her partner Rakesh Sharma. The Indian pair defeated Italy's Matteo Bonacina and Eleonora Sarti 156-155.

Despite her bronze medal heroics, she will have some regrets. She began her campaign with a dominant show in the women's compound qualification round, with a score of 703. She also broke the world record, but it was overtaken by Turkey's Oznur Girdi. Sheetal came second in the qualification round, but then lost to Chile's Mariana Zuniga in the 1/8 Elimination 8 round, 137-138.

Taking to Instagram, Sheetal posted a photo of her celebrating her bronze medal with her mother. She captioned the photo as, "Maa hain na toh mumkin tha (Anything is possible with a mother). Celebrating my medal win with the woman who’s been my rock - my Maa!"

"In early 2022, when I started a new chapter, Maa courageously left behind the comfort of her village, family, and friends, and fearlessly embraced the unknown, overcoming language barriers and standing by me at every step of the way. Her unwavering love and support mean everything to me. She is my world," she added.

Sheetal was born with a condition called phocomelia, which led to her being born without arms. She was born on January 10 2007, in Jammu and Kashmir. In 2019, she was spotted by the Indian Army's Rashtriya Rifles unit, who supported her with education and medical help.

Prosthetics weren't possible for her, but she showed expertise in climbing trees using her legs. Within 11 months of training, she participated in the women's compound event at the 2022 Asian Para Games, and grabbed two gold medals. She won two gold medals in mixed doubles and women's individual, after clinching silver in women's double compound. She is the first and only international para-archery champion without upper limbs.

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