17 July 2011 - Flash Quotes from the World Archery Para Championships finals

Flash Quotes from the Finals Turin –17 July 2011   Today was the finals for all individual and team categories (except men’s team W1). Here are the quotes from the best para archers in the world!   Stepanida ARTAKHINOVA (RUS) – Gold medal Compound Mixed Team Open Shooting this match was very difficult but Misha (Mikhail DIKTOVANNYY) and I managed to find the right rhythm. Therefore the performance was good and we won.   Ebrahim RANJBARKIVAJ (IRI) – Gold medal Recurve Mixed Team Open As I told you during the week, I am used to shooting this kind of matches. I am feeling really good in this period, this is why I know I can really do my best and win my matches.  Stepanida ARTAKHINOVA (RUS) – Gold medal Compound Women Team Open It was a tough match mainly because of the heavy rain. Everything was wet and slippery. We tried to recover and did it, overcoming all the difficulties. We are a great team!   Richard HENNEHANE (GBR) – Gold medal Compound Men Team Open I am very happy with this gold medal. I am over the moon! I did my best and I shot thinking about sticking the arrows in the middle. And I did it. We all did it!   GAO Fangxia (CHN) - Gold medal Recurve Women Team Chinese are united as a nation and this is reflected in every event, especially in team events. We could have done better, we know it, we still have room for improvement.   Oleg SHESTAKOV (RUS) - Gold medal Recurve Men Team I really liked this match and I am happy we won. I am speechless, I do not know what more I can say.   John CAVANAGH (GBR) – Fourth place Compound Men W1 Today I really felt good and the practice was good too. I would have liked this feeling to go on for the whole day! I started off very well and I won the first set. But ANTONIOS shot perfectly and overtook me. We have known each other for at least 10 years and it is always a pleasure to shoot together.  Jean Pierre ANTONIOS (FIN) – Bronze medal Compound Men W1 I shot miserably my practice arrows. No, I’m joking, they were not so miserable. But I kept shooting my arrows on the left side of the target and neither me nor my coach could understand why. Shooting against John CAVANAGH is always very exciting but we are also good friends and we only fight for the sake of archery.   David DRAHONINSKI (CZE) – Silver medal Compound Men W1 It is difficult to talk right now. My opponent has been very good and I could not keep up with him. But I am going home with two medals, a gold medal with my team and an individual silver medal, and this is great. Moreover we got our Paralympic quota places, which was one of our most important goals.   Osmo KINNUNEN (FIN) – Gold medal Compound Men W1 I am very pleased. This is my first gold medal in a World Championship and I must say it has been tough to win. I had already won a silver medal in Korea in 2007, but this has been a better achievement. I knew my opponent very well, we have had tough matches in the past events, but I have been working really hard during the last year and this medal is the right prize for all the arrows I shot in the last months. Archery is a fabulous game!   CHEN Min Yi (CHN) – Fourth place Compound Women Open I do not feel like talking right now. I would have liked to win, but I did not make it.  Zandra REPPE (FIN) – Bronze medal Compound Women Open I was very nervous during the match. But now that I won the medal I am really happy. Being here is amazing and I did my best to achieve my goal.   Stephanida ARTAKHINOVA (RUS) – Silver medal Compound Women Open The match was very tough and difficult. I am very happy because this is my first medal in a World Championship and I had the opportunity to shoot against Danielle BROWN.   Danielle BROWN (GBR) – Gold medal Compound Women Open I am very happy for this gold medal. ARTAKHINOVA started very well but then I managed to recover. Anyway it was a tough match, she has been a good opponent and that makes my victory even better.   Abdullah SENER (TUR) – Bronze medal Compound Men Open I worked very very hard and I feel like I owned this right from the beginning. I am so happy! This medal is both for me and the whole Turkish Republic.   John Stephen STUBBS (GBR) – Silver medal Compound Men Open While shooting I tried to stay focused on the centre of the target but at the same time I tried to keep my head clear and stay relaxed. Philippe HORNER is one of the best Paralympic archers and he is also a great able-bodied shooter so I am extremely proud of how I shot. I have been working hard on my technique and this result shows that I can shoot well.  Philippe HORNER (SUI) – Gold medal Compound Men Open I felt very stressed before the match but now I am relaxed: “Je suis décompressé”! I feel on the seventh heaven. After the European Championship I did not think it would have happened but I won the gold. I am very happy!   Hatice BAYAR and Ozlem Hacer KALAY (TUR) – Bronze medal and fourth place Recurve Women W1/W2 We are such good friends, we do everything together: we live in the same city, shoot together, we are staying in the same hotel room and now we shot together in the bronze final. And now we also want our interview to be the same! We are both very proud of our results, the match has been very exciting. We have been working a lot and we feel like we both won the medal for our country.   Zahra NEMATI (IRI) – Silver medal Recurve Women W1/W2 It did not go as I wanted it to go. This is not the right moment to talk about it.   XIAO Yanhong (CHN) – Gold medal Recurve Women W1/W2 I am very happy. This place is beautiful and it was great to shoot with the audience shouting and cheering next to us. Moreover I would like to thank the Organising Committee and all the volunteers for all their hard work.   Roham SHAHABIPOUR (IRI) – Fourth place Recurve Men W1/W2 First of all I would like to say that I am very grateful for the Paralympic quota. My feelings were very good while shooting and I did my best. I am very happy!   Muhammad Salam SIDIK (MAS) – Bronze medal Recurve Men W1/W2 I feel happy because it was a tough fight. At the beginning of the match I felt good. In the middle I felt very confident, but suddenly I became nervous and I tried to recover my confidence.  LEE Myeong-Gu (KOR) – Silver medal Recurve Men W1/W2 I am very satisfied with my shooting. I only made a mistake shooting an arrow too much on the right in the last set.   Ebrahim RANJBARKIVAJ (IRI) – Gold medal Recurve Men W1/W2 This was not something new for me. I have had the same experience in Guangzhou (CHN). What was new is that when I came here I knew that I could win. And I did it!   Elisabetta MIJNO (ITA) – Winner of the Paralympic Qualification Tournament It was an overwhelming emotion being there in front of everybody and even live on TV. I made it! I will go to London, I am so happy!   Dajana PICCOLO, Rebecca RABOZZI World Archery Communication