Paralympic Games: Athletes to watch in archery

Athletes to watch in archery London – 29 August 2012 Danielle BROWN (GBR), 2008 Paralympic champion    A selection of the top athletes and teams to watch in the London 2012 Paralympic Games archery competition, which takes place at the Royal Artillery Barracks between 30 August and 5 September.   Individual Competition   Danielle BROWN (GBR) – the compound women open Paralympic champion won gold at Beijing 2008. She went on to win the World Archery Para Championships in Turin 2011, making her the archer to beat in London. BROWN also shoots in non-para events and is world-ranked No. 10. She recently won the largest shoot in Europe, the Nimes European Tournament.   XIAO Yanhong (CHN) – the recurve women W2 bronze medallist from Beijing finished behind her teammate FU Hongzhi and Turkey's Gizem GIRISMEN. However, XIAO went on to win the 2011 World Archery Para Championships and is in great form heading into London. Currently world No. 2, just a few points behind Hatice BAYAR (TUR), a good result in London could see XIAO take the world No. 1 spot.   Philippe HORNER (SUI) – the compound men open bronze medallist in Beijing is returning to the Paralympic stage in great form having beaten defending Paralympic champion John STUBBS (GBR) in the 2011 World Archery Para Championships. HORNER also leads the world ranking by a large margin over STUBBS.   GAO Fang Xia (CHN) – the recurve women standing world-ranked No. 2 is hoping to improve on her silver medal at the Beijing Games, where she lost to Korean archer LEE Hwa Sook. Her recent win at the World Archery Para Championships shows it is well within her reach.   David DRAHONINSKY (CZE) – the 2008 Paralympic champion will be looking to maintain his dominance of the compound men W1 competition. Despite being world No. 1, DRAHONINSKY has not had a smooth run-in to London, losing to Jean-Pierre ANTONIOS (FIN) in the final of the 2011 World Archery Para Championships.   Matt STUTZMAN (USA) – the Paralympic debutant is one of seven USA archers competing. STUTZMAN impressed at the US Paralympic trials in April 2012, where he broke two national records and missed the world record of 700 by one point. STUTZMAN will be competing in the compound men open event.   DONG Zhi (CHN) - is a firm favourite for Paralympic gold after winning the World Archery Para Championships in 2011.   Team Competition   Korea – considered the strongest team by many after the men's team won gold and the women's won silver at Beijing 2008. However, at the World Archery Para Championships in Turin both teams lost in their finals to take home silver medals.   China – the gold medallists at the World Archery Para Championships are hoping to repeat their success at London 2012. The women's team won gold at Beijing 2008 and the men's team were close behind with a silver medal.   Great Britain – despite competing as a team for the first time at the London 2012 Paralympics, the GBR team archers all achieved medals in international competition during 2011 so are ones to watch for the podium.   Source: PNS Edited by World Archery Communication