CM Rekha Gupta Hails Sheetal Devi's World Record at Asian Para Games 2026
Synopsis
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta praised para-archer Sheetal Devi after she equalled the world record and set a new Asian Record with a score of 704/720 at the Asian Para Games 2026, signing the targets that witnessed her historic performance.
Key Takeaways
Sheetal Devi equalled the world record and set a new Asian Record with a score of 704 out of 720 at the Asian Para Games 2026 .
Devi competes without arms, drawing her recurve bow entirely with her feet — one of the most extraordinary techniques in competitive archery.
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta shared the achievement on 19 October 2026 , highlighting Sheetal signing the targets she shot through as a symbol of the historic moment.
The performance represents a peak in India's growing para-archery presence at the Asian Para Games.
Indian para-athletes have been recording higher medal tallies and pushing toward record territory over recent Asian Para Games editions.
She has no arms — and she just equalled the world record. Sheetal Devi, India's remarkable para-archer who draws her bow entirely with her feet, matched the world record and set a new Asian Record with a score of 704 out of 720 at the Asian Para Games 2026, drawing an outpouring of pride from leaders across the country. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was among the first to mark the moment publicly, calling it 'a record to remember' and 'a proud moment for Bharat.'
Gupta's post on Monday, 19 October 2026 captured not just the score but the gesture that followed: Sheetal Devi signing the very targets she had just shot through on her way to history. It is the kind of detail that turns a statistic into a story — an archer autographing the evidence of her own greatness.The archer who rewrote what's possible
Sheetal Devi was born without arms due to a rare congenital condition, yet she has built a career at the highest levels of competitive archery by mastering a technique almost no one else on earth uses: drawing a recurve bow with her feet, using her toes to anchor, aim, and release. Her journey from a village in Jammu and Kashmir to continental record-holder is one of Indian sport's most striking ascents. A score of 704/720 — the kind of number that demands a second look — now stands as both a world-equalling and Asia-best mark in her category.India's para-archery rise at the Asian Para Games
The Asian Para Games, the quadrennial multi-sport event for para-athletes across the continent organised by the Asian Paralympic Committee, has increasingly become a stage where India's para-sports investment shows returns. Over recent editions, Indian para-athletes have raised their medal tallies and pushed closer to — and now into — record territory. Sheetal Devi's performance is a high-water mark in that upward curve: not just a podium finish, but a score that ties the global benchmark. State and central leaders have consistently amplified such individual breakthroughs as signals of a wider national narrative around inclusive sporting excellence — and CM Gupta's post fits squarely in that tradition, channelling the #Cheer4Bharat sentiment that has become shorthand for official para-sports support.What the 704 means beyond the scoreboard
In archery, the margin between a good score and a world record is measured in millimetres and milliseconds. A 720 is a perfect score — 60 arrows, all tens. Hitting 704 means 56 perfect arrows and only four near-misses across an entire competition. Doing it without arms, with feet as your only instrument, reframes the entire conversation about human capability. The fact that Sheetal then signed those targets is not a minor flourish — it is an athlete marking her own place in history, right there on the paper that bore the proof. For Indian para-sports, the question now is straightforward: how does this moment translate into sustained infrastructure, funding, and visibility for the next generation of para-archers watching from home?Point of View
Amplifying a performance of this magnitude is also a soft-power exercise: it frames the BJP-led state apparatus as invested in inclusive sporting achievement, not just mainstream athletics. The gesture of signing the targets adds a human layer that political messaging rarely captures organically, making this a rare case where the sporting fact outpaces the official spin. The real test, as always, will be whether the applause converts into structural support for the next wave of para-archers.
NationPress
19 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Sheetal Devi and why is she famous?
Sheetal Devi is an Indian para-archer from Jammu and Kashmir who was born without arms. She competes by drawing her bow entirely with her feet, and has become one of India's most celebrated para-athletes after record-breaking performances at major international events.
What record did Sheetal Devi set at the Asian Para Games 2026?
Sheetal Devi equalled the world record and set a new Asian Record with a score of 704 out of a possible 720 at the Asian Para Games 2026.
What are the Asian Para Games?
The Asian Para Games are a quadrennial multi-sport competition for athletes with disabilities across Asia, organised by the Asian Paralympic Committee. They are one of the most prestigious continental para-sport events in the world.
Why did Rekha Gupta post about Sheetal Devi?
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta shared the achievement to celebrate Sheetal Devi's world-record-equalling performance and to highlight it as a proud moment for India under the hashtag #Cheer4Bharat.
How does Sheetal Devi shoot archery without arms?
Sheetal Devi uses her feet to draw, aim, and release her recurve bow — a technique she has developed to elite international standard despite having been born without arms.
