Pooja Jatyan Advances to Quarterfinals in Paris Paralympics

World Para Championship silver medallist Pooja Jatyan defeated Turkey's Yagmur Sengul to advance to the quarterfinals in the recurve women's open archery competition at the Paris Paralympics. Despite facing polio, Pooja’s resilience has driven her to multiple podium finishes, including gold medals in various international competitions.

World Para Championship silver medallist Pooja Jatyan beat Yagmur Sengul of Turkey in straight sets to storm into the quarterfinals of the recurve women's open archery competition at the Paris Paralympics on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old, who earned a bye into the pre-quarters by finishing inside the top-9 in the ranking round, clinched a 6-0 victory and will face Tokyo Paralympics bronze medallist Wu Chunyan of China in the quarters later in the day.

Chunyan, the second seed, defeated Mongolia's Oyun-Erdene Buyanjargal in her pre-quarterfinal match.

Pooja dominated from the start, taking the first set by hitting three consecutive 9s. She continued her strong performance with a total of 26 points, while her opponent struggled with 22, giving the Indian a 2-0 lead.

The archer from Gurgaon encountered some resistance in the third set when Sengul hit two 9s and an 8, but Pooja remained composed to edge out the Turkey archer by one point and secure the win.

Pooja's journey has been remarkable, especially considering she contracted polio in her left leg due to medical negligence when she was just two months old.

Despite these challenges, Pooja's resilience shone through, and she embraced archery in her childhood. Her career highlights include winning a silver medal in the Women's Team event at the Asian Para Championship 2023.

In 2024, she continued her success by securing a silver medal at the 8th Fazza Para Archery World Ranking Tournament and clinching gold medals in both the Women's Team and Mixed Team events at the Para Archery European Cup 2nd Leg.

In the recurve open category, archers shoot from a standing position at a distance of 70m at a 122cm target made up of 10 concentric circles scoring from 10 points down to 1 point from the centre outwards.

(With inputs from agencies.)