Paralympic Archery in Paris 2024 : Sheetal Devi and Sarita Kumari Crash Out
Paralympics Archery in Paris 2024
Paralympics Archery in Paris 2024: Sheetal Devi, the armless marvel, tumbled out of the last 16, ending Sarita Kumari's incredible run in the quarterfinals.
Sarita Kumari's incredible journey ended in the archery competition's quarterfinals, and armless marvel Sheetal Devi lost in the last 16 of the compound women's open category at the Paris Paralympics 2024, causing sadness for India. Sarita of Faridabad, the ninth seed, had a dominant performance in the first and second rounds before her incredible run was ended in the round of eight by top-seeded Oznur Cure Girdi of Korea. With a score of 704 out of 720 possible points, Oznur broke the world record to win the qualifying round. She scored three perfect 10s in the second to take a commanding five-point lead.
Despite Sarita's flawless fourth end to match Oznur's thirty, the Turkish archer maintained a four-point lead thanks to her consistent beginnings, capping the match with a 29 in the fifth end.
Using her toes to draw the arrow, Sheetal made a mistake in the second end, missing the 7-point red ring and losing to Chile's Mariana Zuniga, the winner of the Tokyo silver medal, 137-138 in the pre-quarterfinals.
With a bye into the last-16 round, all eyes were on Asian Para Games double gold medallist Sheetal, who had also surpassed the previous world mark of 698 by shooting 703.
Beginning the first set on a high note, Sheetal won 29–28 after hitting two X drops one point.
She did, however, get the much-needed opening when she made a 7-pointer in the second arrow, winning the second end 27-26 to equalize the score (55-all).
Over the next eight arrows, the two competitors were even at one point, but Mariana pulled ahead with the last arrow, hitting a nine, while Sheetal, making his Paralympic debut, missed the eight ring.
Sarita, the ninth seed, defeated Eleonora Sarti of Italy 141–135 in a one-sided match during her pre-quarterfinals on the same day that second seed Sheetal was eliminated early.
Sarita, ranked ninth and the winner of the Asian Para Games silver medal team the previous year, led by four points after just one end of play.
After she shot one X (closer to the center) in the second end, she extended her lead to five points, and there was no turning back.
Sarita held her composure and sealed the deal with two strong ends, but her higher-ranked Italian opponent managed two 10s and took the third end.
In her opening round match, Sarita defeated Nur Jannaton Abdul Jalil of Malaysia 138-124.
In the open class, archers aim at an 80cm five-ring target composed of the 10-6 point bands from a seated position at a distance of 50 meters.
Paralympics 2024: Grand Opening Ceremony in Paris
Paralympics 2024: Grand opening ceremony by French President Emmanuel Macron
Paralympics 2024 opened with a grand opening ceremony in Paris on Thursday (IST) by French President Emmanuel Macron, launching an 11-day competition in a city still recovering from the successful Olympics.
It was the first time a Paralympic opening ceremony had been held outside of the main stadium as Macron declared the Games open at a vibrant and lively ceremony in the sunny Place de la Concorde in the heart of Paris.
At dusk, 4,400 athletes from 168 delegations filed into the arena to a standing ovation, and chants from 30,000 spectators crammed into the bleachers surrounding the plaza, welcoming host nation France as the last country to compete.
Before Macron formally proclaimed the Games open, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons expressed his wish for an "inclusion revolution" to the athletes and fans.
The Paralympics, which take place in Paris until September 8, will take place at 18 of the 35 Olympic sites, including the Grand Palais and the Stade de France.
Since the Olympics, ticket sales have increased. According to the organizers, almost two million of the 2.5 million available tickets have been sold, with multiple stadiums now sold out.
The nations hope
The host nation, France, hopes to significantly improve upon its eleven gold medals from 2021 when it finished 14th in the medal standings.
Paralympic giant, China brought a sizable team once more, having dominated the last Paralympics in Tokyo with 96 gold medals.
Despite the difficulties they encounter in training while the conflict against Russian forces rages at home, Ukraine, which has a reputation for being among the top medal-winning countries at the Paralympics, has sent a squad of 140 athletes to compete in 17 sports.
Due to the invasion of Ukraine, 96 athletes from Russia and Belarus will compete under neutral flags however, they are not allowed to attend the opening or closing ceremonies.