Indian para-archer Sheetal Devi and her teammate Rakesh Kumar, who secured a bronze medal at the recently concluded Paris Paralympics, have teamed up as the Election Commission of India (ECI) National Persons with Disability (PwD) icons for voter awareness.

In an event organised today at Nirvachan Sadan, CEC Rajiv Kumar along with ECs Gynaesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu felicitated Arjuna Awardee and ECI’s national PwD icon Sheetal Devi and her mixed doubles team partner Rakesh Kumar, in recognition of their outstanding achievement in winning a bronze medal in Archery at the Paris Summer Paralympics 2024.
The poll panel also announced Rakesh Kumar, a renowned paralympian, as the ECI National icon for PwDs.
Sheetal Devi, accompanied by her mother Shakti Devi and coaches Abhilasha Chaudhary and Kuldeep Kumar, were warmly welcomed by the CEC and the two ECs.
The Commission, while emphasising its commitment to accessible and inclusive elections, said that as a young future voter from Jammu and Kashmir, Sheetal Devi motivates both youth and PwDs to engage in the democratic process.
Kumar, in his address, said that like in their game, the archers who belong to Jammu and Kashmir, will also team up to enhance voter participation in the election process, especially in the upcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
While lauding the champions for their courage and determination, CEC said that when principles of equality and equity are upheld, disability is not seen as an obstacle but as an opportunity for developing additional strengths to overcome challenges.
He added that Sheetal Devi at such a young age is an inspiration for youth and PwDs, encouraging them to engage in both sports and participation in the festival of democracy, according to a release.
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Sheetal was announced as the ECI National Icon just before the announcement of General Elections to Lok Sabha 2024 on March 16 of this year.
Gyansh Kumar, while congratulating the paralympians, said that their journey is an inspiration for PwDs and being ECI national icons would help in encouraging voter participation.
Sukhbir Singh Sandhu lauded the champions for their dedication and determination, encouraging them to continue being role models for many, particularly youth and PwDs.
During the ceremony, Sheetal and Rakesh Kumar captivated the audience with their extraordinary journeys from the small towns of Jammu and Kashmir to participating and winning medals in the Paris Paralympics. Their stories were marked by the perseverance and determination exhibited by the athletes.
Speaking to ANI after being felicitated for her Paralympics heroics, Sheetal urged children to play sports and manage their studies well along with it.
“I want to thank the Election Commission for felicitating me, it made me very happy. Children should also play sports, it is not that difficult. This will help them make the country proud. Some people say it is difficult since you have to manage academics, but you have to study too and manage it alongside sports,” she said.
Rakesh said he is thankful to the Election Commission. “They thought I was capable enough to become to motivate people for voting. I will try that I fulfil all the responsibilities.”
In singles para-archery, Sheetal Devi secured a world record in the ranking round before finishing in second place, with a total of 703 points. However, she could not get that singles competition medal.
Later on, teaming up with Rakesh Kumar in the mixed team compound qualification event, they both went on to make another world record with a score of 1,399. The 17-year-old Sheetal went on to make history as she became the country’s youngest Paralympic medallist, getting a bronze with Rakesh.
Sheetal and Rakesh secured the bronze win over Eleonora Sarti and Matteo Bonnacina of Italy by 156-155 in the bronze medal match.
The Indian contingent concluded its historic Paris Paralympics campaign with a total of 29 medals, including seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze medals, the most by the country in the history of the competition.
With this landmark campaign, India has surpassed their previously most-successful campaign at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, which gave them 19 medals, including five golds, eight silvers, and six bronze medals.
This record-haul also helped India cross the 50-medal mark in the history of the competition. A record of 84 para-athletes represented the tricolour from August 28 to Sunday in 12 disciplines, as compared to nine back in Tokyo 2020. India also participated in new sports at Paris: paracycling, para rowing, and blind judo.
India established several records and unlocked some new “firsts” at the Paralympic Games.-ANI