Asian Para Games Day 4: Sheetal Devi-Toman Kumar

Thursday at the Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya brought two golds before lunchtime for India, one with a discus and one with a bow. Suvarna Raj started the day with gold in the women’s discus F54, and Sheetal Devi and Toman Kumar followed with India’s first archery gold of the Games.

Sheetal Devi and Toman Kumar take compound mixed team gold

India’s top-seeded pair beat Indonesia’s Teodora Audi Ayudia Ferelly and Ken Swagumilang 151-148 in the compound mixed team final. The Indians had earlier set a world record in the qualification round with a combined score of 1,402 points, and they led throughout the final.

The Indonesians won the third end by a point, but India kept a three-point cushion going into the last end. Both teams then scored 38, enough to seal the gold by three points.

A nervy semi-final

It was not all smooth. In the semi-final, India edged Chinese Taipei’s Yun-hsien Lee and Jyun-kai Yang by a single point, 142-141. India held a 112-103 lead after the third end, but a missed shot by Toman put the pair under pressure. They recovered by hitting three consecutive 10s to book their place in the final.

Sheetal’s story

Sheetal Devi is already a familiar name in Indian sport. She shoots using her legs and upper body, and in 2023 she became the first woman without arms to win a medal at the Para Archery World Championships, a silver, at the age of 16. At the previous Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, she won the mixed team gold with Rakesh Kumar and then took the individual title, 144-142, by hitting 10s with her last six arrows. Thursday’s gold adds to that record.

Suvarna Raj wins discus F54 gold

Earlier in the day, Suvarna Raj won gold in the women’s discus throw F54 with a best effort of 15.66 metres. In a six-athlete field, she recorded four throws beyond 15 metres across her six attempts, and her winning throw came on her fifth attempt.

The medal count

Sheetal and Toman’s win was India’s 16th gold of the Games and the second on Thursday, according to reports. India also won bronze medals in badminton on the day, according to a headline we saw, though we do not have the details. The Games run from 18 to 24 October, and medal counts will change through the day.

What it means

India has now won two podium sweeps and a string of golds across athletics and archery, with Sachin Khilari’s shot put F46 gold on Wednesday among the highlights. The archery gold adds a new sport to the list of the Games’ winners.