Paralympic Champion Nemati tops ranking round in Beijing

Paralympic Champion Zahra Nemati of Iran topped the recurve women’s open ranking round by a clear 12 points at the 2017 World Archery Para Championships in Beijing, shooting two consistent halves of 323 and 325 points to finish with 648 in total.

“It was good. It was fine, the only problem was the wind because the direction was not quite clear,” said Nemati.

“We’re still at the very beginning of the competition, we have to continue competing so I’ve promised myself to not put to much pressure on myself. I'm just going to rest, have lunch and just refresh.”

Nemati was trailed by the athlete she beat in the final at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games: defending world title holder Wu Chunyan of China, who scored 636, and then London 2012 silver medallist Elisabetta Mijno of Italy on 626.

Nemati, who competed at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016, was unphased by her competition.

“I haven’t focused on my opponents that much, but for sure I’ll do my best. I’ll have my best performance and I’m looking forward to the best opponents ever in this competition,” she said.

Kim Min Su of Korea finished top of the recurve men’s open ranking round with 641 points, followed by Russia’s Sergey Khutakov on 639 and Ireneusz Kapusta of Poland on 636.

The top seed, just 18 years of age, finished 17th in Rio.

Reigning World Archery Para Champion Eric Bennett is not defending his title in Beijing.

The 2017 World Archery Para Championships run 12-17 September in Beijing, China.