Almost ten months ago, when Sheetal Devi decided to shift base from Katra to Patiala to train under coach Gaurav Sharma, it meant that the 18-year-old would be further away from her family. The Paris Paralympics bronze medallist in the compound mixed team had visited her home in Loidhar village only once from late 2021 to 2024. Devi’s parents Mann Singh and Shakti Devi, and brother Ajay Kumar, understood that the archer would visit home less frequently. On Saturday afternoon, as Devi became the World Champion in Gwangju, winning women’s individual open gold with a 146-143 win against Oznur Cure Girdi of Turkey at the World Para Archery Championships, becoming only the second armless archer in the world to win the title, after USA’s Matt Stutzman in 2022 .

Singh and Kumar immediately kne

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