Sheetal Devi teamed up with Toman Kumar to clinch compound mixed team archery gold medal in W1 category at the Asian Para Games 2026 on Thursday.
Published: October 22, 2026, 12:12 PM IST
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Toman Kumar (left) and Sheetal Devi after winning gold medal at Asian Para Games 2026(Photo: PTI)
Asian Para Games 2026: Para archer Sheetal Devi has been a trend setter for India over the years since winning the first-ever bronze medal at Paris Paralympics Games 2024On Thursday, Sheetal paired up with Toman Kumar and won India’s first-ever W1 medal with a gold medal in the compound mixed team event at the Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
Sheetal and Toman brought home India’s first gold medal from archery at the current Asian Para Games, following a silver in the women’s compound doubles event, in which Sheetal partnered quadruple amputee Payal NagThursday’s gold medal was Sheetal’s second successive in mixed team, having won the title alongside Rakesh Kumar on her Asian Para Games debut in 2023 Hangzhou edition.
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17TH GOLD MEDAL AGAYA HAI PRABHU!
– Sensation Sheetal Devi
wins it https://t.co/ApYqokS4rT— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) October 22, 2026
The reigning world champions in their respective individual categories – Sheetal and Toman – produced a stunning display in the final to defeat Indonesia’s Teodora Audi Ayudia Ferelly and Ken Swagumilang 151-148The top seeds, who shattered the world record in qualification by two points, edged ahead 38-37 in the opening end before extending their lead to 77-73 in the second, dropping just one point.
The Indonesians fought back in the third end, but the Indians retained a three-point cushionBoth pairs scored 38 in the final end, but India sealed the gold thanks to their established lead.
Who is Sheetal Devi?
Sheetal, who is 19 years of age was born without arms and overcame early challenges before being identified by the Indian Army in 2019 – who supported her education and medical careUnder her coach at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board in Katra, she trained in para-archery with remarkable determination.
She was born in Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir and her efforts led to a historic milestone at the 2023 World Archery Para Championship, where she won a silver medal, becoming the world’s first armless woman archer to compete at this level.
For her achievements in para archery, she was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2023 and has been named Para Archer of the Year by World Archery twice.
Toman Kumar lost his leg in an anti-Naxal operation
The 30-year-old Para archer was born in Balod in ChattisgarhToman’s life changed in February 2022 when, while serving as a CRPF jawan in an anti-Naxal operation in JharkhandHe stepped on an IED, resulting in severe injuries and the amputation of his left leg.
In spite of this trauma, he showed true resilience by returning to duty within months and began exploring new avenues to rebuild his lifeHe was introduced to para-archery in 2023 during a prosthetic consultation and soon took up the sport seriously.
Toman began training at SAI centres, he progressed rapidly and within a short span, achieved remarkable success, including winning gold at the World Para Archery ChampionshipsHe became India’s first Male World Champion in Para Archery after winning gold in the 2025 Para World Archery Championships in Gwangju, Korea.
Sheetal and Toman had survived a major scare in the semifinal clash against Chinese Taipei, where Toman’s final arrow missed the scoring zone to register a zeroThe Chinese Taipei pair of Lee Yun-Hsien and Yang Jyun-Kai capitalised on the opening but could not overturn India’s lead, as Sheetal and Toman edged them out 142-141.
