Gold for Russian trio cements their place as world’s top team

Recurve Women Team Open
Bronze medal final: Iran v Italy
With China benefiting from a bye through the quarterfinals it was Turkey v Italy to start the day. They started on an equal footing, scoring 45 from a possible 60 in the first end. Italy began creeping away from Turkey in the second end, closing it with a six-point lead. Over the course of the third end Italy made the most of a few low-scoring arrows from Turkey and increased the gap by a further 10 points, going into the last end leading 142-126. Turkey tried to come back, scoring eight points more than Italy in the final end, but the deficit was too much and Italy went on to win 183-175 for a semifinal spot.

Great Britain took on Korea for a place in the semifinals. The host NPC never looked as though they had a chance after their disappointing first end, in which they shot two three-point arrows. Korea kept up the pressure, beating Britain’s score on every end, and took the match by 35 points, 188-153.

Riding on the back of Zahra NEMATI’s (IRI) gold medal success in the individual recurve W1/W2 event on Tuesday, Iran’s women’s team went into their quarterfinal against Czech Republic with confidence and skill. Iran led every step of the way to a 190-167 win, putting them through to face Korea in the semifinals.

China’s first match of the day was their semifinal against Italy and they showed why they were champions in Beijing 2008, never looking threatened by the Italian trio as they won 192-187.

Korea faced the team from Iran, which included the previous day’s gold medal winner Zahra NEMATI (IRI). Iran scored three fours in the first half, which left them trailing by 10 points. They made a good comeback on the next end to cut the gap to four going in to the fourth and final end. A four from Korea levelled the match with three arrows left. Iran shot a poor five-point arrow and, with Korea shooting a strong 28 to finish, the issue was decided - a semifinal place for Korea, the bronze medal match for Iran.

In the battle for bronze it was Iran who pulled ahead after Italy opened with a three-point shot. However, on the third end Iran took too long to shoot and they appeared to suffer from the added pressure, scoring a two-pointer and bringing the scores to 138 for Italy and 140 Iran. With only three arrows left, Italy scrambled back to a tie. They scored 10, nine and a devastating one-point arrow on their last shot. Iran faltered in their three-arrow response, with the pressure seeming to affect the archers, but an eight to finish clinched the medal. Final score: 188 to Iran, 184 to Italy, giving Zahra NEMATI a bronze to go with her gold.

Next, China and Korea returned to the field of play for the chance to take home gold. Korea started slowly, using up lots of time on the clock. Despite the tight timings the 53 scored on the first end was enough, as China managed only 44. Korea increased their lead by another point in the second end, to be up 102-92 against the defending champions from Beijing 2008. China fought back but Korea stayed ahead and needed only a four with their final shot to win. Their last arrow landed in the gold, scoring 10 and giving Korea the gold medal and Paralympic title (photo).

Recurve Men Team Open

Great Britain continued their good form from their earlier rounds to beat Chinese Taipei 195-179 in the first quarterfinal.

Second up was Korea v Iran. Korea started pulling ahead but a four in the second end resulted in the scores being level at the halfway stage. Iran could not take advantage and scored a three to let Korea go 148-143 ahead. In the final end Korea continued to move ahead and won 201-192.

Italy were hoping to repeat the success of their women’s team but China were stiff opposition. Italy continued to have stray arrows in the last end, letting China take the match 194-185.

Shooting for the chance to meet China were Turkey and Russia. Russia opened up with 53 to go ahead by six points and they held on to that lead for another end. The triple individual medal-winning Russian team of Mikhail OYUN, Oleg SHESTAKOV and Timur TUCHINOV were in top form and broke the Paralympic record for the 24-arrow match with a score of 212, which beat Turkey’s creditable 199. The previous Paralympic record was 209, set by Korea at Beijing 2008.

Beijing silver medallists China met Russia in the first semifinal, and were looking in control until LI Zongshan (CHN) twice failed to shoot his arrow in good time and left the team with only 40 seconds in which to shoot three shots, not the normal 60. China shot remarkably quickly but not with their usual accuracy and fell too far behind to pull back. Russia broke the Paralympic record for the second time in the day, scoring 214, beating their score of 212 from the first round.

Great Britain shot against Korea for the remaining place in the final. The Britons fell behind by eight points but a three from Korea in the third end opened the door and the British trio came back to within one point going into the last six arrows. Korea responded firmly and went into the last shot needing only a two. Their got an eight and clinched their place in the final.

The Great Britain team were then back on the field, with a roar from the crowd, facing China for the bronze. The match started with Britain moving ahead by seven points but they fell behind and ended the first half trailing by four, 102-98. China increased their lead in the third end, leaving Britain trailing by 10 points going into the last six arrows. They shot a string of sevens and eights and a final 10 from Kenny ALLEN, but it was not enough to catch China, who closed out to win 206 to 193 and take the bronze.

For the final time on the archery finals range, the archers from Korea and Russia stepped up to play for gold. At the end of the first set the scores were 50-48 to Russia. The two-point difference remained at the halfway stage, with Korea not quite able to come back. At the end it was TUCHINOV who needed a three or better with his last arrow to add to his London 2012 medal haul. He shot an eight and sealed the gold for the team and his country.

Source: PNS
Edited by World Archery Communication