Sheetal Devi does not use her arms. She was born with phocomelia, a congenital condition that leaves the limbs underdeveloped, and she shoots by holding the bow with her foot and using her shoulder, jaw and feet to position and release the arrow.

On Monday, that technique produced the highest women’s compound score anyone has ever shot. Her 72 arrows at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square in Aichi-Nagoya added up to 704 out of a possible 720, matching the world record held by Türkiye’s Öznur Cüre Girdi, who set the mark at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Her card contained 32 Xs, the innermost ring on the target, and 25 further 10s, with 352 points in each half.

The score was also a new Asian Para Games record. Devi’s previous continental best of 698 had stood since the World Archery Para Series in Bangkok in March; her Asian Para Games record of 680 had been set in Hangzhou in 2023.

Read also: Real Madrid legend loses patience with ongoing controversy: ‘I am extremely tired of all this’

India top women’s compound qualifying

Devi was partnered in the women’s doubles qualification by debutant Payal Nag, who shot 675 to finish joint fifth individually. Their combined 1,379 points left India clear of China on 1,338 and sent the pair straight into the semi-finals.

Devi was born in Loidhar village in Kishtwar in January 2007 and only picked up a bow in her mid-teens. She won two golds and a silver at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games in 2023, took bronze at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, and claimed the women’s compound open individual title at the 2025 World Para Archery Championships. She has held the women’s compound world No. 1 ranking through 2026.

Matchplay in the individual and team compound events continues through the week in Aichi-Nagoya.

Read also: Ferrari keeps Alba Larsen for 2027 as F1 Academy’s two-season ceiling bends for the first time