Pilsen [Czech Republic], July 23 : Indian para-archers finished the World Archery Para Championships 2023 with three medals in Pilsen, Czech Republic, as per Olympics.com.
They have also secured six quota places for the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
At the world championships, India's medal total included one gold, one silver, and one bronze, making it the best-ever performance for the nation on Saturday. The previous high for India was two silvers in Dubai last year.
On Saturday, Sarita and Rakesh Kumar won India’s first-ever gold medal in the World Archery Para Championships after clinching the top podium in the compound mixed team open event. The Indian duo beat Brazil’s Jane Gogel and Reinaldo Ferreira 152-146 in the final.
Sarita also won bronze in the compound women’s team event with Jyoti. They beat the Iranian pair of Farzaneh Asgari and Maryam Yavarpoor Shahrbabaki 147-142 in the bronze medal match.
Archer Sheetal Devi, only 16, accounted for India’s only individual medal in Pilsen - a silver in women’s compound.
Sheetal, who shoots with her foot, went on a dream run in the competition before being halted by Turkey’s Oznur Cure, the defending champion, by a 140-138 scoreline in the final.
Having started archery training only about a year ago, Sheetal is the first female armless archer to win a silver medal at the para world championships.
Sarita also made the bronze medal match in the individual women’s compound event but lost to Jane Gogel 142-139. It was Sheetal who defeated Sarita in the semi-finals.
Earlier in the ranking rounds, Indian para archers set three world records and Sarita was part of all of them. Sarita set the new world record in the women’s individual compound with a score of 697.
Sarita and Sheetal’s combined world record tally of 1386 helped them top women’s compound team qualifications.
Rakesh and Sarita paired up to top the compound mixed doubles ranking round with a new world record score of 1398.
Along with the medals, Sarita, Rakesh Kumar and Sheetal Devi also won quota places for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris for reaching the finals.
India won three more quota places for Paris 2024 at Pilsen, courtesy men’s compound archer Shyam Sundar Swami, women’s recurve archer Pooja and men’s recurve archer Harvinder Singh, who is also a bronze medallist from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
A total of 13 Indian archers participated at the World Archery Para Championships Pilsen 2023.
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