The Indian archer without arms on his way to Paralympic gold

The archer Sheetal Devi takes her bow, draws an arrow and, with utmost concentration, carefully aims at her target, which is about 50 meters away.

This also applies to her opponent, who is playing a practice game with her at a training academy in India.

The difference is that Devi sits on a chair. She lifts the bow with her right leg, pulls back the string with her right shoulder and releases the arrow with the force of her jaw.

What never changes throughout the entire process is Devi’s calm demeanor.

The 17-year-old from Jammu district was born with phocomelia, a rare congenital disorder, making her the first – and only active – archer in the world to compete without weapons.

The Asian Para Games gold medalist is now preparing for the Paralympics, which begin in Paris on August 28.

“I am inspired to win gold,” said Devi. “Whenever I see the medals I have won, [until now]I feel inspired to win more. I've only just started.”

At this year's Paralympics, around 4,400 athletes from all over the world will take part in 22 sports.

Archery has been part of the Games since the first edition in 1960. While countries like Great Britain, the USA and South Korea have dominated the medal table, India has managed to win only a single bronze medal in 17 editions.

Parachute archers are divided into categories depending on the severity of their disability.

The distances to be shot also vary depending on the classification system and determine whether an archer may use aids such as wheelchairs or shooting aids.

The archers in category W1 are wheelchair users with impairments in at least three of the four limbs, i.e. either with a significant loss of muscle strength, coordination or range of motion.

Competitors in the open category have a disability of the upper or lower half or one side of their body and are dependent on a wheelchair or have a balance disorder and shoot standing or resting on a chair. Competitors use either recurve or compound bows depending on the event.

Devi is currently ranked number 1 in the world in the Women’s Compound Open category.

In 2023, she won a silver medal at the World Para Archery Championships, which allowed her to qualify for the Paris Games.

In Paris, she will have to face strong competition such as world number three Jane Karla Gogel and reigning world champion Oznur Cure.

But those who know her say it was her destiny to practice this sport – and to win.

“Sheetale [Devi] “I didn’t choose archery, archery chose Sheetal,” says Abhilasha Chaudhary, one of Devi’s two national coaches.

Devi was born into a farming family in a small village and had not seen a bow and arrow until she was 15 years old.

The turning point came in 2022, when, on the recommendation of an acquaintance, she visited the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board sports complex in Jammu's Katra – about 200 kilometers from home.

There she met Chaudhary and her other coach, Kuldeep Vedwan, who introduced her to the world of archery. Soon after, she moved to a training camp in the city of Katra.

The coaches said they were impressed by Devi's determination.

The challenge was daunting, but her vision – to make the most of Devi’s leg and upper body strength – ultimately prevailed.

Devi said her strength came from years of using her feet for most activities, such as writing and climbing trees with her friends.

Nevertheless, her decision to pursue a career as an archer was not without doubt.

“I felt like it was impossible,” she said. “My legs always hurt a lot, but somehow I managed it.”

In her bad moments, Devi was inspired by American archers Matt Stutzmanwho is known to shoot with his feet using a special device.

Devi's family could not afford a similar machine, so her trainer Vedwan took on the task of building a bow for her.

He used local materials and customized it to their specifications at a local blacksmith shop.

The equipment includes an upper body belt made of materials also used for bag belts and a small instrument that Devi holds in her mouth to shoot the arrow.

The real challenge, however, was figuring out how to use more than just her legs to develop a comprehensive, sustainable technique.

“We had to find a way to balance the strength in her legs, adapt it and use it technically,” explains Chaudhary. “Devi has strong legs, but we had to figure out how she would use her back to shoot.”

The trio then began a controlled training program in which Devi initially aimed at targets just 5 m away using a rubber band or TheraBand instead of a bow.

As her confidence grew, the level of difficulty increased, and after just four months she began using a real bow and hitting targets at a distance of 50 m, the competition standard for the open compound category.

In just two years, Devi not only learned to easily shoot an arrow at close range, but scored six 10s in a row to win the gold medal in the final of the women's individual compound event at the 2023 Asian Para Games.

For comparison, 10 is the maximum score a player can achieve with a single shot by hitting the bullseye on the target.

“Even if I shoot a nine, all I can think about is how to turn it into a ten on the next shot,” Devi said.

It's not just about hard work – sacrifices also had to be made along the way.

Devi said she has not gone home once since she moved to Katra for training two years ago.

She now plans to return only after the end of the Paralympics, “hopefully with a medal”.

In any case, she is determined to do her best.

“I believe that no one has any limits. It's just about really wanting something and working as hard as you can,” she said.

“If I can do it, anyone else can too.”