She stepped onto the para archery range and left with three medals. Shital Devi, India's celebrated para archer, delivered a stunning performance on the second day of the para archery finals at the Asian Para Games 2026, claiming two gold medals and one silver medal to set the nation alight.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini took to X on Thursday, 22 October 2026, to celebrate the feat, writing: 'कमाल कर दिया' ('What a feat!') and calling Shital 'the inspiration of crores of daughters of India.' His message, tagged #AsianParaGames2026 and #Cheer4Bharat, reflected the surge of national pride that follows every medal India's para athletes bring home from the continental stage.

Shital Devi's rise — from Kishtwar to continental glory

Shital Devi from Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir, is one of Indian para sports' most compelling figures — a bilateral upper-limb amputee who competes in compound archery by drawing and releasing the bowstring with her feet and shoulder. She first burst onto the global stage at the Asian Para Games 2023 in Hangzhou, where she became the first armless archer to win a gold medal at a multi-nation para games, becoming a symbol of human possibility well beyond the archery range. Her latest haul at the 2026 edition underscores that Hangzhou was no flash in the pan — it was the opening chapter of a dominant career.

Haryana's sporting pride and the political tradition of recognition

Chief Minister Saini's congratulatory post is consistent with a well-established pattern among Indian political leaders: publicly amplifying para athletes' international successes to project state and national pride. Haryana has long been among India's most decorated sporting states — punching far above its weight in wrestling, boxing, and athletics — and its leaders routinely claim a stake in every medal that carries an Indian flag, even when the athlete hails from another state. The gesture matters: high-profile acknowledgements from chief ministers and senior politicians have historically preceded state cash awards and government job offers for returning champions.

What three medals in two days mean for India's para sports momentum

A haul of 2 gold and 1 silver across the final two days of para archery competition is not just a personal triumph — it feeds into India's broader, deliberate push to become a para-sports powerhouse across Asia and, eventually, at the Paralympic Games. Each continental medal builds the ranking points, institutional attention, and public visibility that the ecosystem needs to grow. Shital Devi, still in her early twenties, is precisely the athlete around whom that story gets told — and told loudly.

Three medals. Two days. One archer who refuses to be defined by what she was born without. India's flag flew high at the para archery range, and the country is already watching to see how many more times it will rise before these Games are done.