NEW DELHI: Punjab powerlifter Jaspreet Kaur grabbed a share of the spotlight with two 'special' archers as she bettered her own the national record in 45kg category to win the gold on the fourth day of the Khelo India Para Games (KIPG) here on Sunday.
The 31-year-old became the first athlete in this edition of KIPG to break a national record, surpassing her previous best of 100kg set in 2023, when she also won gold in the same event.
“I wanted to perform even better this time around. Shattering a national record has also helped me climb up the national rankings,” Kaur told SAI Media.
Gaining 16kg in strength over two years was no easy feat, and Kaur underwent intense training, researched new techniques, and adjusted her diet to maintain peak fitness. However, her biggest challenge was dealing with anxiety.
“I made my debut in 2022 at the nationals. So, I always felt I was quite new to the sport. It took me a while to realise that to develop strength and muscle, it would take time. It does not happen overnight. It took me three years to deliver such performances,” said Kaur, who had polio at the age of three.
Meanwhile, Manish set a new national record in the 54kg category, lifting 166kg to claim gold.
In a highly anticipated compound archery open category final, Jammu and Kashmir’s armless archer and Paralympics medallist Sheetal Devi edged out Odisha’s quadruple amputee Payal Nag to win gold. Defending champion Sheetal, 18, came from behind to defeat 17-year-old Payal 109-103 in their final match.
Payal, who lost all four limbs due to electrocution as a child, competes using prosthetic legs. Despite the sunny conditions in the national capital, the archers delivered fierce competition.
Among other notable results, 40-year-old Rakesh Kumar and 30-year-old Jyoti Baliyan clinched gold medals in their respective events. Jharkhand’s Vijay Sundi triumphed over Haryana’s Vikas Bhakar 6-4 in the men’s recurve open gold medal match, while Haryana’s Pooja edged out Maharashtra’s Rajshri Rathod by the same scoreline to win the women’s recurve open gold.
Veteran para archer Adil Mohammed Nazir Ansari of Maharashtra, 44, successfully defended his title in the W1 men’s event, adding another gold to his tally after winning in the 2023 edition.
At the Karni Singh Shooting Range, Uttar Pradesh’s Sumedha Pathak caused a major upset in the women’s 10m air pistol SH1 category, defeating 2024 Paralympics medallist and tournament favourite Rubina Francis to claim gold.
Maharashtra’s Sagar Balasaheb Katale emerged victorious in the mixed 10m air rifle prone SH2 category, beating Tokyo Paralympian Swaroop Mahavir Unhalkar, who settled for silver.
By the end of Day 4, Tamil Nadu topped the medal tally with 22 golds, followed by Haryana with 18. Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan secured 13 gold medals each.