Sheetal Devi and Swati Chaudhary
NEW DELHI: India's para archers Sheetal Devi and Swati Chaudhary stormed into the finals of their respective events at the Asian Para Games 2026 on Tuesday, assuring the country of at least two medals and setting up opportunities to add to India's tally.Defending champion Sheetal continued her impressive run in the women's compound category, defeating Japan's Shinohara Aya 145-137 in the semifinal. The 19-year-old will face Singapore's Alim Nur Syahidah in the gold-medal match on October 22.Swati, making her debut at the continental multi-sport event, also booked her place in the final after beating South Korea's Lee Eunhee 6-2 in the women's W1 semifinal. She will take on China's Mengkan in the gold-medal contest, with both Indian archers now assured of at least silver medals.
Sheetal continues record-breaking run
Sheetal, who was born without arms and shoots using her feet and shoulder, has been one of India's standout performers in para archery. The Jammu and Kashmir archer equalled the world record and set a new Asian record during qualification, underlining her credentials as she seeks to defend her title.She continued her dominant campaign in the elimination rounds, defeating Hong Kong's Chan Yuen Wah 149-134 in the pre-quarterfinals and the Philippines' Agustina Bantiloc 147-135 in the quarterfinals before overcoming Shinohara in the last four.
Sheetal had also produced a record-breaking 149 against Chan, surpassing the previous world record of 148 held by Britain's Jessica Stretton.The world No. 1 will now look to cap her campaign with another gold medal. She is also scheduled to compete in the compound women's doubles semifinals alongside Payal Nag.
Mixed teams progress as India suffer individual setbacks
India also advanced to the semifinals in both the recurve and compound mixed team events. Paralympic gold medallist Harvinder Singh and Bhawna defeated Thailand 6-0 in the recurve mixed team quarterfinals, while Sheetal and Toman Kumar beat Japan 154-147 in the compound mixed team competition.However, the day brought disappointment in several individual events. Harvinder lost 5-6 to China's Yun Duo in a shoot-off in the men's recurve quarterfinals, while Bhawna went down 2-6 to Mongolia's Selengee Demberel in the women's last eight.In the men's compound event, Toman suffered a 144-149 semifinal defeat to China's Ai Xinliang and will compete for bronze. Shyam Sundar Swami had earlier lost 146-147 to Ai in the quarterfinals.With Sheetal and Swati now one victory away from gold, India will look to convert their strong performances into top-podium finishes as the para archery competition progresses.