Payal Nag Finishes Joint Fifth in Qualification

Aichi-Nagoya, October 19(HS): India’s star para-archer Sheetal Devi delivered an outstanding performance in the women’s compound archery qualification event at the 2026 Para Asian Games on Monday, equalling the world record and setting a new Asian record. Sheetal scored 704 points out of a possible 720, surpassing her own previous Asian record of 698 by six points.

According to the results released after the 72-arrow qualification round, Sheetal scored 352 points in each of the two 50-metre rounds. Her score included 32 Xs and 25 hits in the 12-point zone. Her performance marks a significant achievement for Indian para-archery.

Singapore’s Noor Syahidah Alim finished second with 683 points, while China’s Xueqing Xu secured third place with 680 points. Bangladesh’s Joma Akter took fourth place with 676 points.

India’s other archer, Payal Nag, also put in an impressive performance, scoring 675 out of 720 to finish joint fifth in the qualification standings. Indonesia’s Teodora Ferelli Audi Ayudia also scored 675 points, although the two archers had different tallies of Xs and 10-point hits.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar