Sheetal Devi defended her Asian Para Games women’s compound title, beating Singapore’s Alim Nur Syahidah 142-139 in Okazaki after trailing early. It was her second gold of the day, after the mixed team final, and her third medal of the Games.
Okazaki, Japan: Sheetal Devi has done it again. The 19-year-old from Jammu and Kashmir, who shoots with her feet and legs, beat Singapore’s Alim Nur Syahidah 142-139 on Thursday at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square, repeating the result of the Hangzhou final in which Alim finished two points behind her.
Four points down, then level
Alim made the better start and led by four points early in the final. Sheetal did not panic. She clawed the deficit back, and the match stood level at 95-95 after ten arrows with the gold wide open.
Five arrows for the title
The closing stretch decided it. Sheetal shot two 10s and three 9s in her last five arrows. Alim answered with four 9s and an 8. The final end finished 27-26 in India’s favour, three 9s from Sheetal against a 9, an 8 and a 9 from the Singaporean, and the lead held.
A day of finals
The individual gold was the second of the day for Sheetal. Earlier she won the compound mixed team title alongside Toman Kumar, and on Wednesday she and Payal Nag had taken compound doubles silver after a final against China. That makes two golds and three medals from three events.
The form that built it
Sheetal, the reigning world champion, arrived in Okazaki as the top seed after she shot 704 out of 720 in the ranking round to equal the world record. The final was closer than the seeding suggested, but she finished the job. India had climbed to fifth in the medal table after 27 medals on day three, and her gold adds to that push on day four.
Result: Women’s compound individual final, Asian Para Games, Okazaki. Gold: Sheetal Devi (India) 142; Silver: Alim Nur Syahidah (Singapore) 139.
