Aichi-Nagoya : Indian para-archers Sheetal Devi and Payal Nag clinched the silver medal in the women's compound doubles event at the Asian Para Games 2026 after losing to China's Xueqing Xu and Jing Zhao in the final on Wednesday.
The Indian pair, who had topped the ranking round, were beaten 141-150 by the Chinese duo in the gold medal match, settling for silver and securing India's first medal in para-archery at the ongoing Games. Sheetal and Payal struggled to maintain their rhythm in the final as the Chinese archers produced a commanding performance to claim the gold medal.
The silver added to India's medal tally, with the country also celebrating a bronze medal in para-athletics as Anubhav Choudhary finished third in the men's 100m T35 event. Anubhav clocked a personal best of 12.72 seconds to secure the bronze, continuing India's impressive run in sprint events at the Games. Meanwhile, Indian sprinter Simran Sharma advanced to the final of the women's 100m T12 event after winning her heat in 12.13 seconds, setting an Asian Para Games record in the process. Simran had claimed the women's 200m title on Tuesday.
With these performances, India took their overall medal tally to 37 and stood sixth in the standings at the Asian Para Games 2026. Sheetal, 19, is one of India's leading para-archers and won a bronze medal in the mixed team compound event at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, becoming the country's youngest Paralympic medallist.
Payal, a para-archer from Balangir in Odisha, has overcome significant adversity to establish herself in the sport. She lost all four limbs in an electrocution accident at the age of eight before taking up archery under coach Kuldeep Vedwan at the Maata Vaishno Devi Shrine Archery Academy in Katra. The Indian duo's silver medal provided an early boost to the country's para-archery campaign, while Anubhav's personal-best performance further strengthened India's medal haul in Nagoya.