Sheetal Devi named Para Archer of the Year 2025 by World Archery

Key facts

• Sheetal Devi, a 19-year-old athlete from Jammu & Kashmir, was named Para Archer of the Year 2025 by World Archery.
• She is the first and only female armless archer to win a gold medal at the World Para Archery Championships, achieving the feat in the women’s compound individual event in Gwangju, South Korea.
• The Arjuna awardee completed a full set of medals at the World Championships, including a silver in the women’s team event and a bronze in the mixed team event.
• Her international honours include a bronze medal in the mixed team event at the Paris Paralympics and individual silver medals from the 2022 Asian Para Games and the 2023 Asian Championships in Bangkok.
• In other categories of the 2025 World Archery Awards, Emircan Haney of Turkey was named Archer of the Year and Baptiste Addis of France was named Young Archer of the Year.
• The Best Team of the Year title was awarded to the recurve men’s team from Korea.
• The World Archery Awards were launched in 2011 to recognise excellence and outstanding contributions to the international archery season.