The girl from Balangir, Odisha, lost both her arms and legs when she was accidentally electrocuted. Her family, living hand-to-mouth, dropped her off at an orphanage, with the purpose that she would be able to survive at the orphanage. 

It was from there, the confines of an orphanage, that Payal’s cry for help via social media reached a coach more than 2,000km away. Kuldeep Vedwan, the coach of Paralympic bronze medalist Sheetal Devi, read the tweet and traveled to Balangir. The veteran trainer hoped that by bringing her to his academy in Katra, sports would come to Payal’s life as a savour!

The belief finally has been converted to reality. On Sunday, Vedwan’s protege will face arguably his most famous ward, Sheetal, in the final of the Khelo India Para Games. “I saw a tweet asking for help for Payal, and that is when I knew I could help her become a para-archer,” Kuldeep said while speaking to The Indian Express recently.

After spotting Payal in late 2022, Vedwan had to get permission from Balangir’s District Collector to take her to Katra, where she would train at his academy. Payal’s sister, Varsha, would accompany her to the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Archery Academy.

“I had no idea what archery was when I was in Balangir. Kuldeep sir talked to me on video call for the first time and then he showed me videos of Sheetal didi. When I saw those, I thought I could do something like this. Kuldeep sir gave me further motivation and said that you can also play at Paralympics,” Payal recalled her first encounter with his coach while speaking to The Indian Express.

Before finding protection in archery — and even painting — the 17-year-old had to endure several hardships. “My parents used to cry as people around us would say a lot of things. It was tough for them to watch her daughter like that,” Payal added.

“Now, my parents are very happy that I am doing para-archery. They keep motivating me saying that we know you can do something great,” said Payal.