Sheetal Devi Shines, Compound Gets Olympic Nod Amidst Recurve Woes for Indian Archery

• Sheetal Devi, an armless archer, made history by becoming the first female armless world champion in para archery, winning gold, silver, and bronze at the World Para Archery Championships.
• Compound archery gained Olympic recognition with the inclusion of the mixed team event for the LA 2028 Games, boosting India's strong compound medal prospects.
• India topped the medal tally at the Asian Archery Championships, dethroning South Korea in several events, including historic individual recurve golds by Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara.
• Despite Asian success, Indian recurve archers faced global inconsistencies, failing to secure medals at the World Championships and highlighting concerns for the upcoming Asian Games.
• The Archery Premier League debuted, and new talents emerged, but administrative challenges persisted with the failure to appoint foreign head coaches for recurve and compound teams.

Why It Matters: 2025 saw Indian archery's highs with Sheetal Devi and Olympic compound, but recurve struggles and governance issues remain.