He World Para Archery Championshipswhich is held every two years and took place from September 22 to 28 in Gwangju, Korea, was packed with great competition.
A year after the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, China once again dominated the overall medal table, with a total of 12 medals, including six gold. Two-time Paralympic champion Tianxin Zhang stood on the podium three times.
However, China also lost several high-level matches, demonstrating the high level of the competition in Gwangju.
The biggest advance? Mongolia’s effort in the recurve event took home two team gold medals, both with Demberel Selengee, after the nation’s previous best result was a single team bronze medal in the tournament.
This propelled Mongolia to a surprising third place in the medal table, ahead of Türkiye, Korea, Czechia, Italy and the United States. Sheetal Devi and Toman Kumar won the women’s and men’s open compound bow events respectively, taking India to second place in the medal table.
Who were the big stars of the seven days of the World Championship? Check out the three performances that surprised and delighted us the most in Gwangju.
Sheetal Devi (India)
Sheetal Devi won her second major title in Gwangju, following her victory at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games, defeating current world and Paralympic champion Oznur Cure Girdi in the compound bow event.
“I dreamed of becoming a world champion,” Devi said. “That motivated me to work. I worked and worked, and today I achieved a fantastic result.”
Known for being the inspiration and protégé of Matt Stutzman, Devi is already on her way to matching his achievements, not only in the finals, but also by inspiring and motivating others to push their limits.
She rose to prominence after winning her first major title at the 2022 Asian Games. She then took silver at the Pilsen 2023 World Championships and mixed team bronze at Paris 2024, making her a regular on the sport’s biggest podiums.
The match in Gwangju was a repeat of the 2023 World Championship final. Tied after the first set, the match took a turn in the second, which Devi won while Girdi lost three points. That change proved decisive, as the Indian maintained her lead until the end.
“The pressure wasn’t very great,” Devi said. “I controlled myself and shot very calmly. My heart wasn’t beating as fast, so I felt less pressure. It felt amazing just to be in the final again.”
Wu Chunyan (China)
Although Wu Chunyan has not completely dominated his era, in Gwangju he achieved something unique in the history of Para archery. No athlete had ever won four world titles with the same bow until Wu did it on Sunday, September 28, with what was possibly the best performance of the day.
Wu, who has won two gold medals in three Paralympic Games, used all her experience to outdo her much younger teammate in the women’s open recurve final.
Not everything went well for him in Gwangju (he lost two team semi-finals), but he won every final he participated in and happily punished his opponents’ mistakes. She won bronze in women’s open recurve doubles and mixed team recurve.
He has now won eight world titles, more than any other Para archer. He only has the Asian Para Championship left to round out his record.
Kim Ok Geum (Republic of Korea)
Age is just a number, but in the case of Kim Ok Geum, it makes her achievements even more notable. The 65-year-old world No. 3 in the women’s W1 category, who spent most of her career on the compound bow, won her first world title in Gwangju in the women’s doubles team event with Lee Eunhee, in her own country, and was widely reported in the Korean media.
Kim didn’t take up archery until she was in her fifties, but her unprecedented willingness to work and compete at the highest level has led her to win multiple team and individual medals since her international debut in 2014, including a team silver medal at the Paralympic Games. She placed fourth at Paris 2024, competing as one of the oldest Paralympic athletes.
This shows that attitude is everything in sport.
“It’s my first gold medal at the World Championships, so it’s even more valuable, and I was moved to tears during the awards ceremony remembering the difficult training I underwent,” he told Korean media.
“It was especially encouraging that the mayor and the sports association staff came to cheer me on. I will do my best to achieve good results at the Nagoya 2026 Asian Games.”
This is just the beginning.
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