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The Armless Girl Who Won an Olympic Medal
How resilience and determination can become your most powerful ally
Howie Chan
September 15, 2024
Welcome to Legend Letters - A rebellion against the ordinary, where you redefine success and live your version of legendary.
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HEARTSET
The crowd quiets as she pulls back the arrow with only her feet and her shoulder.
She takes aim.
She lets the arrow fly.
Bullseye.
"Oh, what a start for Devi," the announcer said and the crowd bursts into thunderous clapping and cheer.
This was 17 years old Sheetal Devi, the first armless archer winning a medal for India at the Paralympic games in Paris, 2024.
Watch the video clip that went viral HERE.
Sheetal was born in a small village in Kishtwar, Jammu, and Kashmir on January 10, 2007. Her rare congenital disorder, phocomelia resulted in her arms not fully formed.
And she was a happy kid growing up and never considered sports until 2021, when she was at a youth event organized by the Indian Army.
At first she couldn’t even pick up the bow and she missed the target.
“At first, I couldn’t pick it up; it was too heavy. My coach gave me a lighter one, and then I could pick it up.”
Her persistence paid off.
2021 - Started training at a sports complex in Katra (~300 km from home)
2022 - Para Archery National Championship and Junior National Championships (Did not medal)
2023 - Silver medal: World Archery Para Championships
2023 - 2x Gold and 1x Silver medals: Asian Para Games
2023 - Gold medal: Khelo India Para Games
2024 - Bronze medal: Paralympics, Paris
She is on the world stage and inspiring billions of people.
“You’re the inspiration of billions of people now 🙏🙏 May you always keep shining bright 🙏🙏”
“Sheetal Devi is poetry in motion”
Want to see some amazing pictures from Paris 2024? Check out Sheetal’s Instagram.
MINDSET
Everyday is a day we can choose to turn everything around. Sheetal was born without any arms and one decision when she was 15 changed her trajectory in life.
The past is the past, no amount of “if only” and “I wish” is going to change anything. So make a decision that puts you on a path of legendary and put in the work.
“No one has any shortcomings, we just need to work a little harder”
It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
SKILLSET
After going through articles and translating some of her interviews, here are the 5 lessons we can ALL use to live our version of legendary:
1/ Stay curious to find a way
When Sheetal started training, they wanted to get her prosthetic arms, but that didn’t work out so well.
Instead of giving up, they looked for inspiration and found Matt Stutzman, the only other archer who is armless and he was thrusted into the spotlight in the 2012 London Paralympics.
Her coach made her a clip that mimicked the style of Matt. They studied his style and they were off to the races.
Matt Stutzman - Image credit: LA Times
2/ Don’t forget the heart
Sheetal didn’t fall in love with archery, she fell in love with doing something great. She was inspired by the stories of other people who overcame tremendous difficulty to become someone extraordinary. The book?
Being You: Against All Odds by Preethi (Only available in India)
It’s a collection of 100 short stories of Indians who defied their circumstances and dared to dream in the face of adversities.
The first edition was released in 2021 and it helped Sheetal see the possibilities. The next edition will feature Sheetal on the cover.
In fact, here is a short video about her story from Being You.
3/ Your disadvantage can become your advantage
Sheetal’s athletic abilities came from her climbing trees since she was little. You heard that right, climbing trees with her legs and incredible core strength. It’s that strength that allows her to bring the bow up and hold it extremely steady - imagine doing a crunch with a 5 pound weight on your feet and holding it without moving even a millimeter.
4/ You will suck at the beginning
It was particularly frustrating for Sheetal, since she had no arms and was training with others who did.
“Initially, I wasn’t getting my form right, and I would get frustrated because my arrows wouldn’t hit the target. I thought I couldn’t do it, and it really upset me.”
She continued to persist and put in the work, increasing the number of arrows she shot, from 50 - 60 a day to now 300 a day. Her determination matches her beliefs about life.
“Never lose hope, no matter what happens. Believe in yourself and give it your all”
5/ Your breakthrough paves the way for others to thrive
Remember Matt Stutzman? The American archer also with no arms? He won individual gold for the individual compound open at the Paralympics in Paris 2024 (first ever armless archer) and he had this to say:
“There’re more armless archers involved in this sport now. You can take away all my medals, and I wouldn’t care, because that would be my medal.”
Matt was inspired by his adopted family as he watched his father and brother hunt in Fairfield, Iowa to put food on the table. His legendary breakthrough paves the way for the next generation of athletes, athletes like Sheetal.
Your legendary action will not only impact your own life, it will cause a ripple across generations.
What’s ONE thing you’ll take action on?
My one thing? The idea of turning your “disadvantage” into an advantage. I’ve often been “accused” of smiling too much and it was hurting my executive presence. You know what? I’m turning it into an advantage. I choose joy. I’m going to smile all the way on this quest for legendary, and if you don’t like it? Too f*cking bad. What’s YOUR one thing?
Live your legend 🤘🏽,
Howie Chan
Creator of Legend Letters
Sources:
Sheetal Resolves to Shine Bright In Paris, The Hindu News, December 1, 2023 - LINK
Drawing Strength from Within: Sheetal Devi’s Inspiring Archery Journey, Minosha, 2023 - LINK
Asgar Nalwala, Ali, Sheetal Devi: The Armless Odds-Defying Wonder Para Archer, Olympics.com, June 29, 2024 - LINK
Richardson, Randi, Sheetal Devi, Paralympian Archer, Captivates the World with a Bull’s-eye in Opening Round, September 2, 2024 - LINK
A Ray of Inspiration: Sheetal Devi’s Journey from Doubt to Triumph, Fit India Movement (YouTube in Hindi), February, 2024 - LINK
EXCLUSIVE: The Inspirational story of world’s 1st Armless Archer, Sheetal Devi, in her own words, Sports Today (YouTube in Hindi), December, 2023 - LINK
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