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Sheetal Devi defends Asian Para Games title as China tops medal table

India’s Sheetal Devi retained her women’s compound crown at the Asian Para Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 while China led the para archery medal table.

By , Sports writer

· 3 min read

Sheetal Devi
Sheetal Devi (file photo) Photo: Prime Minister's Office / Wikimedia Commons, GODL-India

Sheetal Devi beat Nur Syahidah Alim 142-139 to defend her Asian Para Games women’s compound title. China topped the para archery medal table with nine gold, four silver and six bronze medals.

Key takeaways

  • Sheetal Devi defeated Singapore’s Nur Syahidah Alim 142-139 in the women’s compound final
  • China topped the para archery medal table with nine gold, four silver and six bronze medals
  • Sheetal Devi and Toman Kumar won mixed team compound gold, beating Indonesia 151-148
  • Xueqing Xu and Jing Zhao won women’s compound doubles gold, beating Devi and Payal Nag 150-141
  • Swati Chaudhary won India’s first W1 women’s medal with silver behind Mengkan Cen

Sheetal Devi retained her Asian Para Games women’s compound title as China topped the para archery medal table at Aichi-Nagoya 2026. World Archery reported that China won nine gold, four silver and six bronze medals and took medals across every event. The Indian archer beat Singapore’s Nur Syahidah Alim 142-139 in the final.

India’s Harvinder Singh also won gold at the Para Asian Games, according to NDTV, which reported that Sheetal Devi won three medals, including two golds. Devi defeated Alim after opening with 29 points apiece, scoring 26 as Alim shot a perfect 30, then responding with a perfect 30 in the next set before holding her advantage through the final two sets to retain her title. China’s Xueqing Xu won bronze in the women’s compound event.

Devi returned to the podium in the compound mixed team event, where she and fellow world number one Toman Kumar defeated Indonesia 151-148 for gold. India took an early lead with 38 points to Indonesia’s 37, then extended the advantage with a 39-36 second set. Indonesia fought back in the third, scoring 37 to India’s 36, but both teams finished with 38 in the final set as India secured a 151-148 victory.

China also enjoyed success in the compound women’s doubles. Xueqing Xu and Jing Zhao defeated India’s Devi and Payal Nag 150-141 to win the women’s title, with Thailand taking bronze. The Chinese pair’s victory reflected a partnership built over many years. “We have been good friends for more than 10 years and have trained together for six years. Since joining the team, we have practically been inseparable,” Xu said. “We eat together and sleep together.” Zhao said she focused on her own performance and trusted her partner to do the same. “During the final, my only thought was to focus on myself, stay in the present and do what I needed to do. I tried to make as few mistakes as possible,” she said. “I trust my partner. I just needed to focus on doing my part well.”

The compound men’s final delivered one of the week’s closest contests. China’s Xinliang Ai and Iran’s Amirmohammad Barani finished level at 144 points after a tight match, with Ai taking gold in the shoot-off. Ai Xinliang, the 2018 Asian Para Games gold medallist, took an early lead with 29 to Barani’s 27, but the Iranian hit a perfect 30 in the second set to keep the contest tight. Both archers scored 29 in each of the next two sets, before Barani’s 29 to Ai’s 28 in the final set forced a 144-144 tie. With gold on the line, Ai held his nerve in the shoot-off, hitting a 10 to Barani’s nine to claim the title. China’s Yicheng Zhang took bronze after defeating India’s Toman Kumar.

China swept both W1 individual titles, with Pan Li beating defending champion Tianxin Zhang for men’s gold. Kazakhstan’s Nurshat Toleukassym took bronze. In the women’s event, Mengkan Cen claimed gold ahead of India’s Swati Chaudhary, who secured India’s first medal in the category, while Korea’s Ok Geum Kim finished third. Korea’s Geonhwi Kwak took the recurve men’s title, defeating China’s Lixue Zhao, with teammate Duo Yun claiming bronze. China also topped the recurve women’s podium, as Zihan Gao beat Mongolia’s Selengee Demberel for gold. Xueqian Wang completed the podium with bronze.

The Asian Para Games, also known as Para Asiad, is a multi-sport event regulated by the Asian Paralympic Committee that is held every four years after every Asian Games for athletes with physical disabilities. Both events had adopted the strategy used by the Olympic and Paralympic Games of having both games in the same city. However, the exclusion of Asian Para Games from Asian Games host city contract meant that both events ran independently of each other. The Games are recognized by the International Paralympic Committee and are described as the second largest multi-sport event after the Paralympic Games.

Sheetal Devi is an Indian female para-archer who competes in compound archery events.

India competed at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris from 28 August to 8 September 2024.

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