New Delhi The world was in awe as India’s first archery gold at the Paris Paralympics without hands went to Sheetal Devi. Everyone questioned how she was able to do this, and she instantly rose to fame.

Enter Payal Nag, a hand-and-footed archer who has already won the crown in the 6th National Para Archery Championship in Jaipur after defeating Sheetal once. She has acquired her skills at the Maata Vaishno Devi Shrine Archery Academy, the same institution that turned Sheetal into a household name.

However, Payal views Sheetal as her older sister in spite of the rivalry on the archery field. She shares her older sister’s aspirations of representing her nation with a Paralympic gold.

“My dream is to win a gold medal for the country,” Payal said in an interview with SAI Media during the current Khelo India Para Games. My objective may be nothing less than winning gold for the nation if I can overcome Sheetal Didi after coming from an orphanage in Balangir, Odisha.

The tale of Italy’s legendary para-fencer Beatrice Maria Vio is quite similar to that of Payal, the only archer in the world without hands or feet. Meningitis caused Beatrice to lose her hands and feet, yet this hardship did not stop her. Rather, by taking home two gold medals from the Rio and Tokyo Paralympics’ Foil-B event, she set an example for athletes like Payal.

Payal now seems to be going in the same direction, and she will undoubtedly demonstrate that the future is hers.

She was introduced to the sport by Kuldeep Vedwan, the Payal coach at the Academy in Jammu, who found her in Balangir, Odisha. He thinks Payal is very talented, and he instills this belief in the child.

In addition to her coach, Sheetal thinks Payal is talented. “When Payal shot an arrow for the first time, I wondered whether it would be possible, but she did it excellently,” Sheetal told SAI Media at the Khelo India Para Games 2025. I felt content. Like my younger sister, Payal is gifted. She works diligently. She has the ability to elevate the nation.

When Payal’s hands and feet came into touch with an 11,000-volt power wire that was crossing a roof in 2015, they became unusable. The child didn’t want to remember this occurrence, but according to her coach Kuldeep, “it became difficult for her family to take care of her.” Then, in 2019, Payal was transferred to Parvatigiri Balniketan, an orphanage in Balangir, with the assistance of the District Collector. After Payal remained there for three years, I took her to Jammu in 2022.

Her trek from Balangir to Jammu is quite remarkable. Payal, who has parents and siblings at home, comes from a low-income household in Odisha. Her older sister Varsha Nag lives with her in the academy dorm and looks after everything, including feeding and bathing her. Her father works as a farmer.

According to Payal, she used to create images with her lips. One day, someone shared one of these drawings on Twitter, and it quickly gained popularity. After seeing this, Coach Kuldeep first got in touch with Payal. In the past, I would doodle with my lips. I could look at anybody and sketch their face. On social media, one of my photos became viral. After seeing this, my mentor (coach Kuldeep) visited me at my orphanage and took me to Jammu.

Kuldeep said that Payal’s first tournament was the National Para-Archery Championship in 2025, demonstrating her potential. In front of some of India’s para-archery greats, such as Paralympian Jyoti Baliyan and Payal’s statemate and Paralympic medalist Sheetal Devi, she took first place. Payal also became the national champion after defeating Sheetal in the Olympic round.

“I noticed that everyone had hands and feet when I first arrived at the academy,” the 17-year-old said. Youngsters used their hands to hold the bow. I pondered my chances of success. My guru then gave me a slap on the back and informed me that he would assist me with this, telling me not to worry and that I could succeed. Sir then created a tool for me and began practicing with it.

Speaking about the new gadget, Kuldeep said that he helped Payal win the national title by making her a unique bow. But there was resistance to this. Since Payal is the only athlete in the world without hands or feet, the rule against firing arrows with both feet will be changed in the next years.

“After seeing this resistance, I created a second gadget that Payal uses with only one foot. She now uses her right foot to raise the bow and her right shoulder to draw it. He said, “I also made a tool to pull the bowstring for her.”

Payal is currently training in Thailand for the World Ranking Tournament. Her objective is to compete in the 2026 Tokyo Para Asian Games and the 2028 Paralympics, but she is utilizing the Khelo India Para Games as a platform.

Two years ago, Payal knew nothing about archery, but today he is confident. “They say that anything is achievable when you believe in yourself. I believed in both my coach and myself. They are the reason I have a national medal and am sitting here speaking to you now. I knew nothing about archery before to arriving to Jammu. I first became aware of Sheetal didi when Coach Sir showed me footage of the sport.

Sir Edmund Hillary famously said, “It is not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves,” and like Beatrice, Payal has now risen to such a high place that any challenge seems little in comparison to her self-assurance. She just has to showcase her skill to the world in order to achieve the highest level of success.