Sheetal Devi equals para-archery world record, sets mixed-team mark with Toman Kumar

Sheetal Devi matched the women’s para compound archery world record on October 19 and helped India set another in mixed-team qualification at the Asian Para Games in Japan. Her score of 704 out of 720, added to Toman Kumar’s 698, produced a combined 1,402.

Both achievements came in the ranking rounds, which determine positions for the knockout competition. The record scores did not, by themselves, award either archer a medal.

Sheetal’s individual round contained 57 arrows worth the maximum 10 points from 72 attempts. Of those, 32 landed in the X-ring, the small central area inside the 10-ring used to break qualification ties. The Sports Authority of India’s announcement placed her first in the women’s compound rankings.

The 19-year-old equalled the 704-point world record set by Türkiye’s Oznur Girdi at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. She also raised the Asian record by six points from 698. That made the same round a joint world-best score and a new continental benchmark.

India already held the mixed-team record that Sheetal and Toman improved. World Archery reported that Sheetal and Rakesh Kumar had scored 1,400 together in Ahmedabad on September 6. Their total had itself improved the pair’s previous world mark, set at the Paris Paralympics, by one point.

There was another strong Indian combination in the women’s doubles rankings. Payal Nag’s 675 and Sheetal’s 704 added up to 1,379, ahead of China’s 1,338. The Indian pair qualified directly for the semifinals.

PTI reported that the mixed-team record gave Sheetal and Toman direct entry into the quarterfinals, where they were due to face the winner of Iraq versus Japan. The knockout rounds will decide the medals.