Sheetal Devi balances the archery bow between the toes of her right foot and lines up the shot.
Using her shoulder as support, she releases the bow, and the arrow hits the bullseye at the Paris Paralympics.
Her calmness and accuracy are astonishing. And now the Indian Paralympian is making waves for her talent shown at the Paralympic Games, despite having only taken up the sport two years ago.
Devi Sheetal's childhood.
Devi was born in Jammu and Kashmir in India in 2007.
Upon birth, she was diagnosed with phocomelia, a rare congenital disorder causing underdeveloped limbs.
In Devi's case, her arms did not fully form — but she's never let that stop her pursuing her passions.
Watch: Sheetal Devi in action. Post continues below.
As a young child growing up in a small village, Devi's favourite thing to do was climb trees. She would do so by shimmying herself up the tree's trunk with her torso — her legs doing the grunt work.
"I wanted to touch the heights of the trees, that was the only thing which made me happy," she told a news agency recently.
How Devi Sheetal became a Paralympian.
At a youth event organised by the Indian Army near Devi's regional town in 2021, army coaches noticed Devi's incredible foot coordination and upper body strength; athleticism likely developed from her time climbing trees.
