When Payal Nag lost all her 4 limbs at the tender age of 5, little did she imagine that one day she would grow up to place India on the global map in Archery. Payal Nag and Sheetal Devi have clinched the gold medal for India in the women’s compound team final in the World Archery Para Series being held in Bangkok, Thailand. Payal became the world’s first archer to compete in a world event without any limbs!

Born in a farming household, Payal lost her limbs when she got electrocuted near her home in Balangir, Odisha. Her family faced great difficulty in bringing her up and so they put her in an orphanage called Parvatigiri Balniketan in Balangir. Payal stayed there for 3 years and within that period, she learnt to draw pictures with her mouth. Some of these pictures made their way to the social media portal X, and went viral.

This is how Kuldeep Vedwan, Payal’s coach, noticed her and was very impressed. He sought her out in Balangir and brought her with him to train at the Maata Vaishno Devi Shrine Archery Academy. Payal’s sister, Varsha, accompanied her, to take care of her. Kuldeep created a custom prosthetic device to act as Payal’s archery equipment so that she could lift the bow with one foot and draw the string with her shoulder.

She competed in the National Para Archery Championship in 2025 for the first time and won gold. She became the national champion. This instilled confidence in her and she set her eyes on the World Archery events in 2026. And today, hard work, training, grit and determination have helped her conquer the global stage too. By winning the gold medal with Sheetal at Bangkok, she has succeeded in making the nation proud. She is now a shining example for others to follow.