Sheetal Devi became World Champion. (Photo- PTI)

The World Para Archery Championship 2025 in Guangju, South Korea created a new history on Saturday, when 18 -year -old Sheetal Devi of India surprised everyone by winning the gold medal in the women's compound individual competition. Sheetal not only raised the value of India by defeating Turkish World No. 1 player Ozanur Cur Girdi in a close match of 146-143, but also achieved the distinction of becoming the world champion as the first woman archery to shoot arrows.

Sheetal Devi becomes world champion

The match saw a tough competition between the two players, which was like a revenge for the 2023 final, where Girdi defeated Sheetal 140-138. This time Sheetal won with restraint and accuracy. The first set was equal to 29–29, but in the second set, Sheetal took a 30-27 lead with three perfect 10 shots. The third set again ended at par, while Sheetal stopped at 28 points in the fourth set and Girdi took a lead of one point. Nevertheless, Sheetal retained a two-point lead on a score of 116-114. He confirmed the gold medal by gathering 30 points from three accurate marks in the last set.

Silver medal won with Sarita

Earlier in the semi-finals, Sheetal defeated Britain's Jodi Grinham easily 145–140. Sheetal's success was not only personal. In the compound women's open team competition, she won the silver medal with Sarita. In the final, Turkish pair Girdi and Bursa Fatma made a brilliant start against them. In the first set, four arrows scored three 10 points and took a lead of 38-37, while Turkey could only one 10. In the second set, Turkey scored three 10 and one 9 to 39 points to 76-76.

The third set showed the effect of pressure, where Sheetal-Sarita scored only one 10, two 9 and one 8 to 36 points. Turkey took a lead of one 10 and three 9 points. Turkey scored 39 points in the last set, while India stopped at 36. Due to which India had to be content with the silver medal after losing 152-148.