Indian Para-Archers Rakesh Kumar and Sheetal Devi Win Bronze at Paris Paralympics
Indian archery pair Rakesh Kumar and Sheetal Devi clinched the bronze medal in the Mixed Team Compound event at the ongoing Paris Paralympics. They defeated Italy’s Eleonora Sarti and Matteo Bonnacina with a score of 156-155 in the bronze medal match.
Earlier in the day, Iran’s Fatemeh Hemmati and Hadi Nori ended India’s hopes of a gold medal by defeating Rakesh and Sheetal in the semi-final. The match was extremely close, with Iran winning by a margin of 19.3mm after a shoot-off.
The Indian duo had advanced to the final four with a 154-143 win over Indonesia’s Teodora Audi Ayudia Ferelly and Ken Swagumilang. Sheetal also set a new world record in the women’s individual compound event by scoring 703 points out of a possible 720, but she lost to Chile’s Zuniga Mariana by 137-138.
Sheetal was one of India’s biggest medal contenders, having secured three medals at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou last year, including two golds and a silver.
Doubts Revealed
Para-Archers -: Para-archers are athletes who participate in archery but have physical disabilities. They compete in events specifically designed for them.
Bronze Medal -: A bronze medal is an award given to the third-place finisher in a competition. It is made of bronze, a type of metal.
Paris Paralympics -: The Paris Paralympics is a major international sports event for athletes with disabilities, held in Paris, France. It happens every four years, just like the Olympics.
Mixed Team Compound Event -: This is an archery event where teams of one male and one female archer compete together. ‘Compound’ refers to the type of bow they use, which has a system of pulleys and cables.
World Record -: A world record is the best performance ever recorded in a particular sport or event, anywhere in the world.
Semi-finals -: The semi-finals are the round before the final in a competition. The winners of the semi-finals move on to compete in the final for the top prize.
