Indian Compound Archers delivered an impressive performance on the first day of the Paris Paralympics 2024 at Les Invalides on Thursday. Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar established a new world record in the mixed team event during the ranking rounds, which helped them to secure the top position in the standings.
In the afternoon session, Rakesh Kumar scored a total of 696 in his 72 arrows, which placed him 5th in the ranking for the Men’s Individual Compound Open. Compatriot Shyam Sundar Swami finished in the 15th position with a score of 688.
In the morning session, Sheetal Devi had earned the 2nd rank in the Women’s Individual Compound Open with a score of 703. Sarita Adhana, on the other hand, placed 9th with a score of 682.
In the mixed team event, India achieved a combined score of 1399, setting a new World Record. The score for the mixed team is calculated by adding up the scores obtained by the best ranked male and female archer from each team. The previous record was also held by India, with a score of 1398, which was set in July 2023. Interestingly, Rakesh Kumar was also involved in this feat, with his partner being Sarita Adhana during that time.
In the Women’s individual recurve open, Pooja Jatyan earned a 7th place finish with a score of 585. Harvinder Singh, who won bronze at the Tokyo Paralympics, had previously placed 9th in the Men’s Recurve Open with a score of 637. The Indian mixed team ranked 5th with a combined score of 1222.
The knockout rounds will start from Friday, which will be used to determine the medal winners.