New Delhi: India won its first medal in para archery in the history of Paralympics after the mixed compound team of Rakesh Kumar and Sheetal Devi claimed bronze medal on Monday at the Les Invalides Arena.
It was a intense match that went to shootout after both teams were locked 155-155 after the completion of four ends, which involved 16 arrows for each team. The shootout was won by Indians with Rakesh and Sheetal scripting a remarkable come-from-behind win 156-155 to fin196ish on podium for the first time.
The para archery has been a regular discipline since the inaugural edition of the 1960 Rome Paralympics. This was the first time Indian para archers finished on the podium in any of the nine medal events at the quadrennial showpiece.
While Sheetal Devi became the youngest Indian Paralympic medallist at the age of 17, veteran Rakesh Kumar won the bronze on his debut campaign at the age of 39.
How Sheetal and Rakesh made a comeback to finish on podium
Sheetal Devi and Rakesh suffered heartbreaking loss in the semifinals against Iranian pair of Fetemeh Hemmati and Hadi Nori as the match went into a shoot-off. The Iranians prevailed on the basis of closest distance shot near the innermost part of the target after all four compound archers shot 10 in the shoot-off.
However, it was quite opposite in the semifinal when the pair were one point short (116-117) after the third end. Sheetal’s niners didn’t gave any confidence to overcome the slight deficit. But the Italian para archers Eleonora Sartia and Matteo Bonacina shot consecutive 9s in the first half of the fourth end.
The Indians ensured to bank on the reprieve and hit 10s before Italians forced another shootout. There was disappointment at Invalides arena but not for Rakesh and Sheetal as the pair was seen with smiles, a much needed moment after both failed to account for a medal in their respective individual events.
India won its first medal in para archery in the history of Paralympics after the mixed compound team of Rakesh Kumar and Sheetal Devi claimed bronze medal on Monday at the Les Invalides Arena. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
