Heartbreak in Archery: Sarita Kumari and Sheetal Devi's Paralympics Journey

India's Sarita Kumari and Sheetal Devi faced setbacks at the Paralympics. Sarita's impressive run ended in the quarterfinals against top-seed Oznur Cure Girdi. Meanwhile, Sheetal, known for drawing arrows with her toes, was eliminated in the last-16 by Mariana Zuniga. Both Indian archers showed remarkable performances despite the losses.

India suffered heartbreak from the archery arena as Sarita Kumari's splendid run ended in quarterfinals, while armless wonder Sheetal Devi crashed out of the last-16 in the compound women's open category at the Paralympics here on Saturday.

In the quarterfinals, Faridabad's Sarita Kumari, who entered as the ninth seed, had dominating performances in the earlier rounds before her journey was halted by the top-seed Oznur Cure Girdi from Korea. Oznur shattered the world record in the qualifying round, sealing her victory with precise shots, including three perfect 10s.

Meanwhile, Sheetal Devi, who remarkably shoots using her toes, faced Tokyo silver medalist Mariana Zuniga in a nail-biting last-16 match. Despite starting strong, a misfire in the second end cost her the match by a narrow margin.

(With inputs from agencies.)