New Delhi, Dec 15 (PTI) Armless archer Sheetal Devi was the cynosure of all eyes during Friday’s proceedings at the inaugural Khelo India Para Games here as she advanced to the gold medal round of the women’s compound competition.
The 16-year-old Asian Para Games champion scored 696 points to make it to the final round to be held on Saturday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Sheetal, representing Jammu and Kashmir, has been making waves in recent months with two medals in her maiden appearance at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou. She then won medals at the Para Asian meet in Bangkok.
Jyoti Balayan from Uttar Pradesh too advanced to the final round, 10 points behind Sheetal at 686. Sarita of Haryana and Tanishka of Delhi will play for the bronze medal on Saturday.
Ahead of the Khelo India Para Games, Sheetal had spoken of mild pressure as all athletes in the fray are known to her. However, when she used the bow and arrow with her legs on Friday, her unwavering concentration stood out. Her skill and will was indeed a delight to watch.
Rajasthan’s Mona Sharma caused a major upset on Day 3 of Para Shooting events at Dr Karni Singh Ranges, after she surprised Hangzhou Asian Para Games gold medallist Sidhartha Babu to stand on the top of podium in the Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1 event.
Mona scored a total of 247.5 just 0.2 shy of Sidhartha’s Asian Para Games record score of 247.7. Kerala’s Sidhartha finished with 245.1 to earn the silver while Anandkrishnan H finished with 221.9 for the bronze.
In the Cerebral Palsy football competition, national champions Kerala thrashed Jharkhand 21-0. Tamil Nadu also trounced Madhya Pradesh 12-0.
On the final day of powerlifting, Sunita Dhobi of Rajasthan and Samimben Vahora of Gujarat were tied at identical weights of 63kg. P Chandra of Tamil Nadu was third at 50kg. As per classification, Sunita was the declared winner.
There was plenty of excitement in the elite 107kg section, when strongman Pardeep John of Haryana lifted 180kg for the gold. The silver medal went to Milan Kumar of Rajasthan at 150kg.
The vast difference between the two lifters showcased how strong Pardeep was. The bronze medal went to Dinesh Bagade of Maharashtra at 148kg.
In para table tennis, Goa’s Lloyd Fernandes, who emerged champion at the national ranking championships in Ahmadabad in July, defeated Pawan Sharma of Haryana 3-0 in men’s Class-2 category without much difficulty.
Lloyd dominated the match from the beginning and made it to the semi-finals to be played tomorrow.
Source: PTI News
