CM Saini hails Sheetal Devi's Asian Para Games record
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
A young para-archer from India just rewrote history — and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini made sure the nation stopped to notice. On Monday, 19 October 2026, CM Saini took to X to celebrate Sheetal Devi's stunning performance at the #AsianParaGames2026, where she matched a world record and shattered an Asian record in the women's compound qualification round with a score of 704 points.
704 points, two records, one extraordinary archer
The number is staggering. Sheetal Devi's 704-point score in the women's compound archery qualification did not just win a round — it equalled the world record and demolished the existing Asian record in the same breath. That kind of double-strike in a single competitive session is the stuff of highlight reels, and it announced Sheetal to a continent-wide audience with unmistakable force.
CM Saini's post captured the magnitude plainly: '704 अंकों के साथ विश्व रिकॉर्ड की बराबरी और एशियाई रिकॉर्ड ध्वस्त' — matching the world record and demolishing the Asian record with 704 points. He added that her achievement has 'raised every Indian's head with pride,' and offered his heartfelt congratulations along with wishes for a bright future.
Sheetal Devi and India's rising para-archery profile
Sheetal Devi has emerged as one of the most compelling figures in Indian para-sports, competing in compound archery events on the international circuit. Her performances have drawn sustained attention to a discipline that India has invested in increasingly across successive editions of the Asian Para Games.
India's para-archery contingent has been a source of periodic record-breaking moments at continental level, and Sheetal sits at the sharpest end of that curve. A qualification-round performance of this calibre sets an unmistakable benchmark going into the medal rounds — every rival team is now on notice.
Why a CM's congratulation carries political weight
Haryana has a long tradition of producing elite sportspersons, and state leadership routinely amplifies athletic achievements as both a point of regional pride and a statement about investment in grassroots sport. CM Saini's public acknowledgement of Sheetal's feat fits a well-worn but genuinely meaningful pattern — visible political endorsement translates into public attention, sponsorship conversations, and, for younger para-athletes watching, a signal that their discipline is taken seriously at the highest levels of governance.
The hashtag #Cheer4Bharat in his post also situates this moment within the broader national-pride frame that surrounds India's para-sports movement — one that has grown louder with each successive international cycle. Sheetal Devi's record-equalling score is the latest, and arguably one of the sharpest, data points in that story.
The medal rounds await. On this form, India will be watching very closely.