18-year-old Sheetal Devi becomes the first woman armless archer to win gold in the women’s compound individual category at the Gwangju 2025 Hyundai World Archery Championships. The now world champion defeated Türkiye’s reigning champion, Oznur Cure Girdi, by 146-143 on September 27, 2025.
Hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, Sheetal bagged three medals at the event. Earlier she partnered with men’s compound individual gold winner, Toman Kumar, for the mixed team compound event. The two ended with a bronze medal after defeating Great Britain’s duo of Jodie Grinham and Nathan MacQueen by 152-149.
For the next event, that is, the compound women’s open team event, Sheetal paired up with Sarita, claiming the silver medal. The Indian women’s duo defeated the Turkish pair of Oznur Cure Girdi and Bursa Fatma Un by 38-37.
Sheetal, the only armless archer, displayed a courageous effort shooting with her feet and chin. The day marked India’s scripting history with two world champions crowned and five medals claimed in total.
On becoming the world champion, Sheetal in excitement said, “I had a dream I would become world champion. It made me want to work. I worked and worked and today I’ve got such a good result.”
The final event
The final of the women’s compound individual event was an intense battle between Sheetal and Girdi. Round one ended in a tie with both the archers at 29-all. The second end saw the Indian women’s archer take the lead early with her fierce three 10s, ending with a score of 30-27.
The third end saw another tie round at 29-all. The fourth end concluded with Girdi leading by one point against Sheetal for 29-28. By four ends, the two ended with a score of 116-114. But it was in the final end when Sheetal hit three perfect arrows for a total score of 30 that got her the gold medal.
For Sheetal, the win comes as revenge after two years since their last final clash at the 2023 Pilsen World Championships. In that event, Girdi defeated Sheetal by a near score of 140-138. This time it was the Indian archer turning the game in her favor.
The compound women’s title event saw India’s Sheetal Devi take the gold, followed by Türkiye’s World No. 1 Oznur Cure Girdi with the silver and Great Britain’s Jodie Grinham with the bronze.
Quote sourced from [World Archery]
