That was the first international medal for Odisha ace Payal, who made her international debut at the Asian Youth Para Games in Dubai last year. She now looks forward to competing in the 2026 Tokyo Para Asian Games and the 2028 Paralympics.

The daughter of a migrant labourer, Payal lost all of her four limbs at the age of eight after coming into contact with a live wire at a brick kiln in Raipur, Chhattisgarh in 2015. Her extraordinary talent was discovered and nurtured by coach Kuldeep Vedwan, who also groomed Sheeta.

Payala trained alongside Paralympic medallist Sheetal at the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Sports Complex in Katra, Jammu-Kashmir from 2023. The Odisha para-archer is now honing her skills, under the guidance of coach Abhilasha Chaudhary, wife of Kuldeep Vedwan.
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TOP: Odisha para-archery ace Payal Nag in action.
RIGHT: Payal Nag with coach Abhilasha Chaudhary at the World Archery Para Series in Bangkok.