Paris 2024 Paralympics Archery: Sheetal Devi, Sarita impress at compound ranking round; Rakesh Kumar finishes fifth

Indian para-shooter Sheetal Devi has secured her place in the round of 16 at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Competing in the women's individual compound open archery event, the 17-year-old para archer, born without arms and shooting with her legs, delivered an awe-inspiring performance. Her score of 703 out of 720 marked her personal best, putting her second in the ranking round.

Despite the remarkable achievement, Sheetal narrowly missed setting a world record by just one point. Turkey's Öznur Cüre outshot her by a single point, setting a new world record with a score of 704. Sheetal’s accuracy and consistency with 59 tens and 24 X's kept her ahead of Iran’s Fatemeh Hemmati, who finished third with a personal best of 696 points.

Next at Paris 2024 Paralympics Sheetal could potentially face Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Mariana Zuniga from Chile. Zuniga, who placed 15th, must first overcome Choi Na Mi of Korea in the round of 32.

Paris 2024 Paralympics Women's Individual Compound Open Ranking Round Results:

1. Öznur Cüre - Turkey - 704 points
2. Sheetal Devi - India - 703 points
3. Fatemeh Hemmati - Iran - 696 points
4. Jodie Grinham - Great Britain - 693 points
5. Jane Karla Gogel - Brazil - 691 points
6. Julie Rigault Chupin - France - 689 points
7. Phoebe Paterson Pine - Great Britain - 688 points
8. Eleonora Sarti - Italy - 684 points
9. Sarita - India - 682 points
10. Maria del Pilar Riveros - Costa Rica - 681 points
11. Nur Syahidah Alim - Singapore - 677 points
12. Zhou Jiamin - China - 676 points
13. Kseniya Markitantova - Poland - 676 points
14. Lin Yueshan - China - 670 points
15. Mariana Zuniga - Chile - 670 points
16. Sarah Al-Hameed - Iraq - 669 points
17. Teodora Audi Ayudia Ferelly - Indonesia - 662 points
18. Choi Na Mi - South Korea - 661 points
19. Jeong Jinyoung - South Korea - 659 points
20. Joma Akter - Bangladesh - 658 points
21. Kerrie Leonard - Ireland - 653 points
22. Ameera Lee - Australia - 649 points
23. Melissa-Anne Tanner - Australia - 646 points
24. Nur Jannaton Abdul Jalil - Malaysia - 646 points
25. Giulia Pesci - Italy - 644 points
26. Diana Gonzabay Guaman - Ecuador - 637 points
27. Sevgi Yorulmaz - Turkey - 634 points
28. Agustina Maximo Bantiloc - Philippines - 618 points

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Rakesh Kumar with a gritty performance in the Men's Event at Paris 2024 Paralympics

On the men’s side, India's Rakesh Kumar gave strong performances in the men’s individual compound open ranking round at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Rakesh showed immense resilience, climbing from 22nd early on to finish fifth with a score of 696. His performance combined with Sheetal Devi's set a new world record for the mixed team ranking round with a total of 1399 points.

His rise in the rankings was marked by consistent shooting, ending in 50 tens and 17 X's. Shyam Sundar Swami, who started the day in 12th, managed to finish 15th with 688 points in the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

The competition at the Paris 2024 Paralympics was fierce, with China's Ai Xinliang taking first place, setting a Paralympic record with a score of 709. His compatriot, He Zihao, claimed second with 704 points, while Finland’s Jere Forsberg took third, just one point behind.

Paris 2024 Paralympics Men's Individual Compound Open Ranking Round results:

1. Ai Xinliang - China - 709 points
2. He Zihao - China - 704 points
3. Jere Forsberg - Finland - 697 points
4. Kyle Tremblay - Canada - 697 points
5. Rakesh Kumar - India - 696 points
6. Nathan MacQueen - Great Britain - 696 points
7. Kevin Polish - USA - 695 points
8. Piotr van Montagu - Belgium - 694 points
9. Abbas Kadhim - Iraq - 694 points
10. Jonathon Milne - Australia - 693 points
11. Matteo Bonacina - Italy - 691 points
12. Ken Swagumilang - Indonesia - 691 points
13. Michael Meier - Austria - 691 points
14. Victor Sardina Viveros - Mexico - 688 points
15. Shyam Sundar Swami - India - 688 points
16. Marcel Pavlik - Slovakia - 688 points
17. Maxime Guerin - France - 686 points
18. Comsan Singpirom - Thailand - 686 points
19. Matt Stutzman - USA - 686 points
20. Reinaldo Vagner Charao Ferreira - Brazil - 685 points
21. Patrick French - Australia - 684 points
22. Hadi Nori - Iran - 682 points
23. Yuya Oe - Japan - 682 points
24. Thierry Joussaume - France - 679 points
25. Serhiy Atamanenko - Ukraine - 678 points
26. Fernando Gale Montorio - Spain - 678 points
27. Martin Doric - Slovakia - 674 points
28. Aliou Drame - Senegal - 672 points
29. Alisina Manshaezadeh - Iran - 672 points
30. Ka Chuen Ngai - Hong Kong - 670 points
31. Daneshen Govinda Rajan - Malaysia - 666 points
32. Diego Quesada Arias - Costa Rica - 313 points