After establishing herself as a dominant force in compound archery, India's armless archer Sheetal Devi is set to make her debut at the Paralympic Games on August 29 at the picturesque Esplanade des Invalides in Paris. Sheetal's remarkable rise in the sport has positioned her as a strong contender in her first Paralympics.

The competition kicks off with the ranking round, with the first medal events scheduled for August 31. Around 140 athletes will compete for nine gold medals over the course of eight days. China, the top performers at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games, and last year’s World Championships, will once again be the team to beat, with strong challenges expected from other Asian nations, including Iran, India, and South Korea.

Sheetal gained international attention with her outstanding performances at the 2023 World Championships and the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games, where she secured gold medals. She will be joined by her teammates Sarita and Rakesh Kumar, who are the reigning world champions and Hangzhou 2022 winners in the mixed team event. The duo will be aiming to replicate their success in Paris, further bolstering India's prospects at the Games.

The Asian Paralympic Committee’s newest member Bangladesh will make their debut at these Games with all their hopes resting on Joma Akter in the women compound individual event. She won the nation’s first-ever Paralympic quota in the final qualifier in Dubai.

Para archery was one of the eight Paralympic sports contested at the inaugural Games in Rome in 1960.

In recurve men's individual event, Iran’s Rio 2016 champion and two-time Asian Para Games champion Gholamreza Rahimi and Mohammad Reza Arab Ameri, 2023 World Championships medallists, will look to put their nation among the medals after their recent campaigns.

China’s Wu Chunyan and Wu Yang will be carrying the Asian hopes in the recurve women's individual after Iran’s three-time Paralympic champion Zahra Nemati will skip the Games.

Chunyan is a four-time Paralympic medallist and will be aiming her first individual gold in Paris after her three gold at 2023 Worlds while Yang is a Worlds and Asian Para Games medallist.

In the W1 category, two-time Paralympic champion Chen Minyi and Zhang Lu, the reigning world champion from China, will be among the favourites for the podium finish in the women’s event.

Meanwhile, Zhang Tianxin and Han Guifei will be hoping to maintain their momentum after their Asian Para Games golden show, in W1 men events.

South Korea’s Kim Ok-Geum and Park Hong-jo will also be ones to watch out for after their performances at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games. Ok-geum already has a Paralympic silver at Rio 2016 along with Koo Dong-sub.

Inputs from IANS