Rajshri rathod

Khelo India Para Games: Defending champion Sheetal Devi came from behind to successfully bag her second gold medal of the Khelo India Para Games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Sunday. Pitted against Odisha’s special quadruple amputee archer in Payal Nag, Jammu and Kashmir’s Sheetal triumphed 109-103 in their compound archery open final encounter.

The old guard of Rakesh Kumar, 40, and Jyoti Baliyan, 30, claimed medals while teenage sensations Sheetal, 18, and Payal, 17, also shone on the podium in the compound open events. Jharkhand’s Vijay Sundi beat Haryana’s Vikas Bhakar 6-4 in the men’s recurve open gold medal match while Haryana’s Pooja beat Maharashtra’s Rajshri Rathod 6-4 in the women’s recurve open gold medal match.

All eyes were on the women’s compound gold medal match. Sheetal Devi started with a score of 8 and 7 while Payal opened with double 10s. Payal, 17, however, lost the upper hand in the third round where she shot a 7 for the first time and Sheetal got back to her consistent best of 9s and 10s. The deciding fifth round saw Sheetal clinching the gold at the Khelo India Para Games 2025.