Aichi-Nagoya, 21 October (H.S.):

Indian archers Sheetal Devi and Payal Nag won the silver medal in the women’s compound doubles event at the 2026 Asian Para Games on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Anubhav Chaudhary secured bronze in the men’s T35 100-metre race in athletics.

The Indian pair, who topped the rankings round, lost 141-150 to China’s Xueqing Xu and Jing Zhao in the gold-medal match. The Indian archers were unable to maintain their momentum in the final, while the Chinese duo delivered an impressive performance to clinch the gold medal. The silver marked India’s first medal in para-archery at the ongoing Games.

In athletics, Anubhav Chaudhary clocked 12.72 seconds to win bronze in the men’s T35 100-metre event. The performance also marked a personal best for the Indian athlete.

Meanwhile, Indian sprinter Simran Sharma qualified for the final of the women’s T12 100-metre event after clocking 12.13 seconds in her heat, setting a new Asian Para Games record. Simran had earlier won gold in the women’s 200-metre race on Tuesday.

Following these performances, India’s overall medal tally rose to 37, placing the country sixth in the medal standings.

Nineteen-year-old Sheetal Devi is among India’s leading para-archers. She won bronze in the mixed team compound event at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, becoming India’s youngest Paralympic medallist.

Payal Nag, who hails from Balangir in Odisha, has also carved out a place for herself in archery despite overcoming significant challenges. An electric shock at the age of eight affected all four of her limbs. She subsequently began training in the sport under coach Kuldeep Vedwan at the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Archery Academy in Katra.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar