Payal Nag Age, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Para-Athlete
Known for	Being the first archer without arms and legs to win a gold medal in the world at the World Para Archery Series Finals in April 2026
Physical Stats
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Archery
Debut	World Para Archery Series Finals (April 2026)
Medal(s)	Gold Medal at World Para Archery Series Finals in April 2026
Personal Life
Date of Birth	Year, 2008
Age (as of 2026)	18 Years
Birthplace	Balangir, Odisha, India
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Balangir, Odisha
Social Media	Instagram
Family
Parents	Father- Ramchandra Nag (labourer) Mother- (labourer)
Siblings	Sister- Varsha Nag

Some Lesser Known Facts About Payal Nag

• Her parents are labourers who work at different construction sites in different parts of India. They often migrate from one place to another.

• When Payal Nag was eight years old, in 2015, she received an electric shock when she touched a live wire at a brick klin.

• After that, her both arms and both legs were removed during a surgery.
  

  A childhood picture of Payal Nag after her hands and legs were removed

• After that, her parents enrolled her in Parvatigiri Balniketan, a child care organisation in Odisha.

• There, Payal Nag completed her education and learnt basic life skills. She learnt the skills to overcome challenges in her life.

• She learnt to write and draw with her mouth. Gradually, she became a fine sketch artist, and many of her sketches received recognition at district-level competitions.
  

  Payal Nag posing with her sketches

• Payal Nag draws the face pictures of people by only looking at them at once. Once, somebody posted her sketches on social media, which went viral. Payal narrated her memories in a media talk. Payal said,
  

  I used to draw with my mouth. I could draw someone’s face just by looking at them. One of my pictures went viral on social media. My mentor (Coach Kuldeep) saw it too, then came to my orphanage and took me to Jammu.”

  

  Payal Nag posing with one of her sketches

• After that, archery coach Kuldeep Vedwan recognised her talent and went to meet her.

• Kuldeep Vedwan met her in 2022 and took her to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Archery Academy in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir.

• Payal Nag then started watching archery videos of Sheetal Devi on social media.

• At the academy, she started learning archery while using technical equipments. She learnt anchoring the bow using her mouth and releasing the string by moving her shoulder.
  

  Payal Nag while practising archery in 2023

• Her elder sister takes care of her needs at the academy.

• Kuldeep once shared in the media that in 2019, a district collector helped her parents to sent her to an orphanage, where she lived until 2022. He said,
  

  It became difficult for her family to care for her. Then, with the help of the district collector, Payal was placed in the Parvatigiri Bal Niketan orphanage in Balangir in 2019. Payal stayed there for three years, and in 2022, I brought her to Jammu.”

  

  Payal Nag with her coach

• In March 2025, Payal Nag won a silver medal at the Khelo India Para Games (KIPG), organised in New Delhi.
  

  Payal Nag with her coach and medals

• In April 2026, she participated in the World Archery Para Series organised in Bangkok.

• On 4 April 2026, Payal Nag made headlines when she won a gold medal in women’s final.

• She then became the first archer without arms and legs to win a gold medal in an international championship.

• Payal Nag defeated para-athlete Sheetal Devi by 139-136 points.
  

  Payal Nag on a poster after winning a gold medal at the World Archery Para Series organised in Bangkok (2026)

• Sheetal Devi, a para-archer, is her idol. Sheetal once talked about the gaming skills and performance of Payal Nag in a media talk. Sheetal said,
  

  When Payal shot the arrow for the first time, I wondered if it was possible, but she did it brilliantly. I was delighted. Payal is talented and like my younger sister. She is hardworking. She can bring glory to the country.”

• Payal Nag competes in the compound category and is among the first archers in the world with quadruple limb loss to compete internationally.

• According to some media reports, she looks like Beatrice Vio, a para-fencer from Italy.