Payal Nag wins double gold at World Archery Para Series Bangkok

Key facts

• Payal Nag defeated world No.1 Sheetal Devi 139-136 to claim the compound women’s individual gold at the World Archery Para Series in Bangkok.
• She partnered Sheetal Devi to secure the team gold, helping India finish atop the medal table with seven gold, five silver and four bronze medals.
• The 18-year-old quadruple amputee from Balangir, Odisha, became the world’s first quadruple amputee archer to compete internationally after World Archery approved her customised equipment.
• Coach Kuldeep Vedwan spotted her through a 2023 social-media post, obtained district-collector permission to shift her from Parbati Giri Bal Niketan orphanage to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board academy in Katra.
• Vedwan designed a steel device fitted to her right prosthetic leg that enables her to lift and shoot the bow, and she trains nearly eight hours daily.
• Payal made her international debut at the 2025 Asian Youth Para Games in Dubai and earlier defeated Sheetal Devi for double gold at the 2025 Jaipur Nationals.