Beijing 2017: 10 archers to watch

More than 150 archers from around the world are taking part in the 2017 World Archery Para Championships, the first major competition since the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Here are 10 archers targeting the world titles from Tuesday (12 September), in Beijing, China:

1) Rahimi Gholamreza, Iran

The top ranked archer in the men’s recurve open event and reigning Paralympic gold medallist is revered for his talent and poise. He finished third at the 2015 edition in Donaueschingen, Germany.

2) Tomohiro Ueyama, Japan

The optimistic recurve archer is determined to build a base for archery in Japan ahead of Tokyo 2020, as his nation will have 11 athletes from the nation competing in Beijing. The 30-year-old reached the quarter-final at Rio 2016 where fell to Gholamreza, but still has a lot more to show.

3) Svetlana Barantseva, Russia*

The two-time Worlds silver medallist and No. 1 ranked women’s recurve will get her biggest test in Beijing.

4) Wu Chunyan, China

After winning triple gold in Donaueschingen 2015, Wu was unstoppable until her first major loss to Iran’s Zahra Nemati during the 2016 Paralympic Games.

5) Zahra Nemati, Iran

Having focused on able-bodied competitions, Nemati returns to the World Archery Para Championships scene, which lead to a rematch with Wu. The Iranian two-time Paralympic champion and Olympian is perhaps the most popular archer in the world.

6) Jonathan Milne, Australia

Milne made waves when he won a surprise bronze in the 2016 Paralympics and is determined to raise the profile of Para archery at home.

7) Eleonora Sarti, Italy

Sarti fell short in the first round at Rio 2016, despite arriving as the reigning world champion. Beijing 2017 is her opportunity for redemption.

8) Peter Kinik, Slovakia

The Rio 2016 bronze medallist will compete for his first world title since 2009.

9) David Drahoninsky, Czech Republic

The No.1 ranked archer brings experience and humor to the field, as he aims to retain his world title.

10) Jessica Stretton, Great Britain

This 17-year-old archer is one of the youngest and best in the world. She broke four world records in July at Great Britain’s junior national championship – and is the Paralympic champion.

The Beijing 2017 World Archery Para Championships runs until 17 September.

*Editor’s note: The International Paralympic Committee suspended the Russian Paralympic Committee on 7 August for its inability to fulfil its IPC membership responsibilities and obligations, in particular its obligation to comply with the IPC Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Code (to which it is also a signatory). As a result of the suspension, Russian athletes cannot enter IPC sanctioned events or competitions, including the Paralympic Games. For further information please click here.