Gunmarhdhar in Loidhar village is a picturesque settlement at an altitude of 1,510 metres off National Highway 244, which connects Kishtwar in Jammu division to Anantnag in Kashmir. The primary occupation of the 400-odd families is maize farming. So infrequent is travel between Kishtwar town and Loidhar village that a state transport bus service started after armless archer Sheetal Devi won two gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games has been terminated for lack of passengers.
Posters giving details of three wanted terrorists appear along the road from Kishtwar to Loidhar, which also sees movement of Indian army convoys. But the road, after exiting the highway leads to the back of beyond; serene and beautiful with a view of Sinthan Pass is Gunmarhdhar, the place Sheetal calls home. The last half-kilometer is a kucha road.
The archer’s videos have gone viral and she had already made waves before winning the Paris Paralympics bronze in the mixed team event with Rakesh Kumar. She has featured in The New York Times, the BBC and other major news outlets around the world. Celebrities have been posting videos of her on social media.
On Monday, Sheetal and Rakesh prevailed 156-155 in the bronze-medal contest against Italy’s Eleonora Sarti and Matteo Bonacina.
Back home in Gunmarhdhar, Sheetal’s father Mann Singh, who has been looking forward to his daughter winning a Paralympic medal, says she has once again put their village on the world’s sporting map.
“Here at our village and around this place, Sinthan Pass is most famous. Sheetal has given a new identity to this village. Her medal is our biggest treasure,” Singh told The Indian Express.
Sheetal has also uplifted the family. Her father once worked as a daily labourer, chipping down stones and transporting them. Now, Singh and Roop Chand, Sheetal’s grandfather who is 88, have been supervising the construction of their new two-room house. Sheetal is paying for the construction using cash awards she had won. “The house is a gift from Sheetal,” Singh says.
School of Paralympics medal-winning archer Sheetal Devi in Mughal Maidan near her village Gunmarh a remote part of Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir. (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)
She is the apple of the eye of her brother Ajay and sister Shivani.
When Sheetal was born with Phocomelia, which results in under-developed limbs, Singh and his wife Shakti Devi didn’t let it affect them. They are proud that Sheetal too has surmounted all the odds.
“Just like her name, she has always remained calm,” Singh said.
The family has been in Gunmarhdhar for three generations. They own nearly half an acre of land on which maize and vegetables are grown. “Whatever I could do to support the family, I did. I worked as a labourer to make ends meet and still do occasional stone work,” Singh added.
Pride of the region
Sheetal’s former teacher at the Government Secondary School in Watnadhar, Sandeep Kumar Rathore is also excited about her feat. The school is a 20-minute walk from her home. Sheetal had enrolled there in 2012.
Paralympics medal-winning archer Sheetal Devi studied at Government Secondary School in Watnadhar near her village Gunmarhdhar, a remote part of Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir. (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)
“I had joined the primary school as a new recruit and had met Sheetal parents at a marriage ceremony. When I asked them about sending their daughter to the school, they were a bit hesitant. But then I told them that she would be able to cope. She could write alphabets using her feet and I knew at that time that this girl would be as confident as anybody,” Kumar said.
Rakesh Dogra, the principal of Mughal Maidan Higher secondary school, where Sheetal studies, says students see her as an inspiration. “Maybe the Jammu and Kashmir education department will introduce a new chapter about Sheetal’s life in the curriculum to inspire the youth,” Rathore said.
Basheer Ahmad, a former sarpanch of the village, calls Sheetal the ‘pride of the village’. “Sheetal has shown the way for the village kids and now they have a role model to follow,” Ahmad said.
Shivani, younger sister of Sheetal Devi practicing with players at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board sports complex in Katra. (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)
It was in 2021 that Indian Army’s Colonel Shishpal Singh, then posted with 11 Rashtriya Rifles, met Sheetal during a school reachout programme. He offered to help the family get Sheetal prosthetic limbs. The Major Akshay Memorial Trust in Bengaluru and Being You, an online storytelling platform, helped Sheetal and her sister Shivani enroll at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Sports Complex in Katra. Sheetal’s career as an archer took off.
Sheetal and Shivani started training under coaches Kuldeep Vedwan and Abhilasha. Over the last three years, Sheetal has made a mark – winning a silver at the world para championship apart from two medals at the Asian Games. “Sheetal had no idea about archery. But she was excited during the cab journey to Katra. It was like a new start. Initially, when she would shoot, her shoulder would suffer a lot of scars due to the band used for holding the bow. Later, when Kuldeep sir got the new holding device made, it made it easier. Now more than 20 trainees here want to become like Sheetal,” Shivani said.
In Gunmarhdhar, there is hope that the medal will bring change. A refurbishment of the primary school, construction of a health centre, the commencement of the bus service that was stopped, and paving of the road to Sheetal’s home. Her family is waiting for the day she returns to the village. “Hopefully, Sheetal’s medal will bring positive change for the people here,” Singh said.
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