Paralympic Games
24 August - 5 September 2021

Third is the charm for archer Zahra Nemati

Iranian claimed her third consecutive Paralympic gold medal in the women's individual recurve event 02 Sep 2021
Imagen
Nemati celebrates gold
Iran's Zahra Nemati celebrates her gold at Tokyo 2020, the third in her career
Ⓒ Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images
By OIS

It was a glorious journey for Iran's Zahra Nemati as she obtained her third consecutive individual Paralympic Games gold medal after taking the women’s individual recurve - open event at Yumenoshima Park on Thursday, 2 September.

In the final, Nemati defeated newcomer Vincenza Petrilli, from Italy, 6-5., in a shoot-off. She was leading the match 5-1 after three ends, but the rival came back. 

In the tie-breaker, the Italian shot first and got a 9, but it was not enough because Nemati nailed a 10 to take the title.

“Everyone is used to this excitement and my excitement was quite high (today). It was hard to control, but I'm happy that I controlled it at the right moment,” said Nemati to the Olympic Information Services (OIS).

The Iranian got her first individual gold in W1/W2 at London 2012 and in the individual recurve - open at Rio 2016.

“Archery is not a simple meaning for me,” she affirmed. “It's a life, a lifestyle.”

In the bronze medal match, China's Wu Chunyan cruised over Greece's Dorothea Poimenidou 6-2. 

The archery contest at Tokyo 2020 continues Friday (3 September) with the men’s individual recurve - open.