Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s teenaged para archer Payal Nag was on top of the world in Bangkok on Saturday.
The quadruple amputee produced a stunning upset as she upstaged her world No. 1 teammate Sheetal Devi to clinch gold in Women’s Compound final at the World Archery Para Series meet.
The 18-year-old Payal, competing in only her second international event after making her debut at the Dubai 2025 Asian Youth Para Games, showed great composure and steely nerves to beat Sheetal 139-136.
It was Payal’s second gold in the meet as she and Sheetal had earlier topped the Compound Women’s Doubles event.
Payal was the star of India’s dominating performance in Bangkok, where they topped the standings tally with 7 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals.
Payal thus strengthened her status as a force to reckon with, having also overcome Sheetal at the Para Nationals in Jaipur in January 2025.
Payal, daughter of a migrant labourer from Odisha’s Balangir district, lost all four limbs after coming into contact with a live wire at a brick kiln in 2015.
The story of her journey to the top of the podium on international stage from the depths of despair is quite a fairytale, and most inspirational.
