Indian archery star Sital Devi has once again won the gold medal at the Asian Para Games. The 19-year-old Sital, who was born without arms, defeated Alim Nur Syahida from Singapore with a score of 142-139 in the final of the women's individual compound event, becoming the gold medalist for the second consecutive time. Notably, Sital managed to achieve victory by making an impressive comeback after falling behind her opponent.
Previously, at the 2023 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, Sital also defeated Alim in the final to win gold. This time, the confrontation between the two top archers was decisive, and the Indian athlete demonstrated the ability to remain calm under pressure.
During the final, Alim initially took a four-point lead by hitting six sixes in the first two rounds. This presented a serious challenge for Sital to recover in the game. However, the Indian archer showed outstanding performance in the next two rounds, consistently scoring ten points six times. Among these hits were three that landed very close to the center of the target and received the so-called 'X' score.
Thanks to this brilliant performance, Sital increased her advantage by two points. In the final stage, there were three arrows remaining, and the gold title was at stake. Sital scored nine points for each of the three arrows, adding a total of 27 points. Her opponent, Alim, performed weaker under pressure, scoring 9, 8, and 9 points in the last three arrows. Thus, she could only accumulate a total of 26 points in the final stage, allowing Sital to win with a score of 142-139 and secure the gold.
Before winning the individual event, Sital Devi had already won the gold medal in the mixed team compound event several hours earlier along with Toman Kumar. This brought her total number of gold medals at the current Asian Para Games to two. Earlier, Sital also received a silver medal in the women's doubles event with Payal Nag, who is an athlete with four limb impairments from Odisha. Thus, her total medal count reached three.
Sital Devi is from Jammu and Kashmir and is among the world's leading para-archers due to her exceptional skills. Her performance once again proved that she is capable of making a magnificent resurgence in tense matches despite the pressure.
